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No, I’m not going mad, nor am I a Beatles fan.

But if laughter’s your middle name, and if you have some cash to spare, perhaps you wouldn’t mind having a JOYR1DE in your SPACEBUS around town guffawing or declaring that all you need is love from your licence plate.

Yes, the Transport Department will soon be holding an auction of personalised vehicle registration marks (PVRM), and you can soon announce your secret anime obsession to the rest of HK traffic.

Was trying not to fall off the chair and ROTFL yesterday when I came across an advertisement in the South China Morning Post on the PVRM auction. If anyone should think that people in government are boring old geezers with no imagination, this should help you reconsider your judgment. For a small deposit of HKD5,000 you can participate in the auction and perhaps walk away with one of the following PVRMs:-

HAHAHAHA (no, I am NOT kidding!)
BEATLES
GUNDAM
1 LOVE U
H1M H1M (huh?)
BABYFACE
NEPTUNE
HAHA (they love this one, don’t they)
PANGPANG (eh?)
STRAW (believe it or not)
COUPLE
RICKSHA (yes, one letter short of condemning your vehicle)
PANTHER
MASERAT1
DD MM YY (sometimes, I really don’t get the HK sense of humour)

But will the Charlenes, Simones, Maheshes and Bens be up for a fight for a PVRM that bears their name?

Car owners will also have a chance to prove to their bosses how dedicated they are to their company (or show how much they’re being overpaid) with licence plates such as “PCCW” (a telecommunications company in HK), “HKU” (Hong Kong University) and “KPMG”.

And if I were in the government intellectual property enforcement department, I’d keep my eye on whoever bids for “Mr DVD”.

For a good laugh, go here to view the list. The Standard also has an article on it which you can read here.