Cyril Gaby represents a long-standing tranche of the Hong Kong community - that is of seamen who would acquire a Chinese mistress in the city and set her up in an apartment. It was a convenient arrangement for men who came and went. In his autobiography, Gaby has described how he acquired his mistress through the time honoured "viewing" procedure at a tea shop in Ladder Street and recorded the price negotiated with the madam, which in his case in the early 1930s was a down payment of $500 and the purchase of a $2000 apartment in Wanchai. <Read more ...>
