Intrigued by the well-known reference to the "Noon-Day Gun" in Noel
Coward's song, "Mad Dogs and Englishmen", I had read somewhere that
it was possible for visitors to Hong Kong to fire the gun.  So in
2006, before visiting my son who lives there, I emailed Jardines, the
organization responsible, to inquire.  The reply came immediately.
Yes, it is possible for a guest to fire the gun.  All that is needed
is a charitable donation.   Of $28,000.

I passed on the opportunity but I did attend the ritual firing.
At the stroke of noon a uniformed official leaves the Excelsior Hotel
on Causeway Bay, marches to the gun, rings a bell, pulls the lanyard
and the gun goes bang.  The custom began in the 1860s and the original
gun was removed during the Second World War.  Another weapon was
mounted in 1945 and the present gun dates from 1982.

An interesting speculation is that if the gun were to be loaded with
a live round it would cause serious consternation at the Hong Kong
Police Officers' Club which is located directly in the line of fire.

Michael Woolf
New Zealand