My impression of the under-stairs shops – although they are small, there are many treasures in them, each of them marks good childhood memories.
The under-stairs shop which I often visited was the watch repair business, the one in Kowloon City was called Lee Shing Watch. Nowadays it is very convenient to check the time, you have clocks at home or you can see the time on the TV , computer or mobile phone. Not many people wear watches now, and watches sometimes will be broken or even stopped, and people find it inconvenient to get them fixed or change batteries.
I have liked to wear watches since I was in primary school. I like to see the watch hands moving, and I am especially excited when I see all the three hands move to the same position. When I was young, I was not as wealthy as I am now. If my watch was broken, I would not buy a new one immediately, but I would get it repaired . At that time, there were not many places which can repair watches, so my dad would take me to Kowloon City “Lee Shing Watch”by bus. I would ask my dad to let me stay and see how the Uncle Ng fixed my watch. Uncle Ng’s skills were excellent. He opened the watch case, then wore a magnifying glass, selected the tool and the watch would be repaired in an instant. It was really amazing!
Editor’s note: Lee Shing Watch has recently closed its doors and hasn’t seen business for a long time. Don’t know how Uncle Ng is doing now.
