And then there was one

One week to go to the term break.
But first I need to retrace my steps and retract my words from last week, the week that was box check week.  There were found to be a few oversights in occasional boxes that needed to be addressed.  Not offenses that meant our pay would be withdrawn or contracts abruptly ended but still, I was pissed off because I thought I had done a 'Ron' (family joke) and checked everything twice. And to add to my chagrin Eric found chocolate frogs in his boxes as a reward - but his boxes were less complete than mine! Anyway Jim, I retract my shot at you in last week's post and blame it all on the officious nature of some box checkers (no names mentioned).
On Thursday we were invited to participate in a non-compulsory Professional Development opportunity which we had enrolled in but then Eric 'chucked an sickie' as they say, and we didn't make it.  Some people will do anything to avoid attending a PD in their own time.  He had been aiming to make it to work without a sickie for the whole term but dipped out in wk 9. Not bad considering his recent history, and hopefully next term he will cruise it in.
Other than that, the week went as smoothly as you could expect.  On Monday we joined the walkers to explore Bishan Park which has been recently redeveloped. The Kallang River runs through the park and used to be directed through a concrete channel but this has been transformed back to it's natural state including wetlands and a lotus filled lagoon. All along the stretch of river there are interesting bridges, playgrounds and shelters.  On our morning walk it was very overcast and cool so there were very few people enjoying it, but it must be very popular for picnics and family gatherings - every installment felt like you had entered a different room, but they were all very natural.

From the park we continued on to Lower Peirce Reservoir which is a water catchment area so surrounded by natural bush and rainforest with plenty of birds and other wildlife. We heard many but they were hard to sight. According to June who walks here regularly, this is a very popular site for Tai Chi enthusiasts in the early morning, but we are too late today.

By the time we have completed the walk back to the nearby road and suburbia Eric and I have walked far enough. But no, we walk through the suburb of Ang Mo Kio and into the park so we can climb the steps to the top of the hill just to say we have done it! Did I mention this is a walking club who shun escalators and prefer to take the steps.

 No view from the top, so we don't hang around, just head down again and on to lunch.  When we get up from the table to head for home we are both very stiff and sore!
We spent a lazy afternoon at home and then in the evening went to Holland Village to explore the area. Peter, who works at Kovan office as an assistant lives here and recommended we check it out as it is very popular with tourists and the ex-pat community. We found a wide array of restaurants and cafes offering anything from Thai to Mexican cuisine along streets that are closed to traffic in the evenings.  We decided on Cambodian and were not disappointed.