OFF THE VINE: Everything you never wanted to know about an expat's life in Asia

It must be something in the air that they breathe up there, those

lofty, creative advertising types.

Stuart Lloyd, former head of FCB Singapore, has thrown his hat into the

growing ring of advertising practitioners who have turned to writing

books.

Stuart has opted not to tread the cerebral path chosen by some of his

peers, but has climbed up the rungs of the comedic ladder to jostle Jim

Aitchison for top position with his tome, Hardship Posting.

Billed as "true tales of expat misadventure in Asia", Vine can only

assume that Stuart drew heavily from personal experience to put together

the book, given the fact that he also stars in the cover photograph -

pictured right.

Vine would now like to officially launch the first competition of the

new millennium - and challenge readers to identify which of the three

gorgeous, pouting babes is actually Stuart in disguise.

For the benefit of Hong Kong readers, Stuart will be in town later this

month, signing copies of his book on January 29.

For those who can't wait, check out www.hardshipposting.com for new

stories, expat links and "more mayhem and misadventure".