Mahjong workshop: the clatter of tiles is back in the clubhouse
麻雀

Sunday 1 November. Mahjong – the favourite pastime of the first generation that came over here. In the old days there were sometimes six tables going at once in the clubhouse: relatives gathered round, with the clatter of sliding tiles and loud conversation. Good company all round. Now, for the first time in a long while, Connect set out the mahjong tables again. This time for the family who grew up here.

From eleven o'clock the first people trickled in. Young and old, and all distant relatives of one another. Some brought their own immediate family along too. A few had come from far away, and for some it was even their first time at the clubhouse.

The workshop was given by John from the Connect committee, with help from Michelle, an experienced player from the family. They taught the beginners the classic game with the Hong Kong rules, the way they had learned it from their own parents.

First came an explanation of the different kinds of tiles, then the combinations you can make with them. The rest you learned by playing: how to build the wall, how many tiles to take and where to take them from. We played without scoring, so that beginners could first get used to making combinations.

Just watching doesn't get you far: you only really learn the game by playing it yourself. Sometimes it goes fast, so you have to concentrate. The little bit of Chinese that had stuck from Chinese school finally came in useful: counting in Chinese and recognising the four winds on the tiles, 東南西北 (dung naam sai bak). For the youngest the counting was still tricky, so a cheat sheet was made for them.

A few beginners had a remarkable amount of beginner's luck. A couple of rare combinations even came up that made for a winning hand. In between games, John steamed dim sum for everyone. As the day went on, more people joined and an extra table was added. There the beginners could carry on practising at their own pace, while at the other table the experienced players picked up the speed.

There was a lot of laughter, and the sound of sliding tiles filled the clubhouse again just like in the old days. The stories came out too: how the game used to be played in San Tin, and what it was like at the clubhouse. Afterwards we stayed on chatting for a good hour. It was a very successful afternoon.

Thank you to John for organising, for the explanations and for the dim sum. And thank you to Michelle and everyone who helped the beginners on their way. We hope to organise many more kinds of workshops with Connect in the future!