It is the season of buns – some people have just seen Easter out with its tradition of the hot cross variety while here in Hong Kong we are about to scramble on Chueng Chau for the Chinese version. Interestingly in both these instances, this soft, doughy little lump of bread that goes with just about anything else to eat represents a violent occurrence in man’s history – Easter, the crucifixion of a man-god and the Cheung Chau bun scramble, the eviction of pirates who terrorised a local community... This lowly lump of bread reminds us of a brutal past but it also stands for the other side of our human experience – people “breaking bread” together and eating in companionship, enjoying each others’ company and parting in friendship. The bun might be an insignificant bit of food to spread our butter on, but it is how we see and use it that makes all the difference. sd