One week to go

What I didn't mention last week was that on Monday night, heading out to the staff Christmas dinner, the taxi arrived earlier than expected so I gulped down an icy cold drink which set off that toothache that has intermittently been bothering me for about 2 months. I have been using the de-sensitizing toothpaste as recommended at two visits to the dentist but with little improvement. The pain would not go away so on Wednesday morning I revisited the National Dental Clinic at Outram as a walk-in patient and this time they discovered the crack in my wisdom tooth. No wonder the Sensodyne wasn't helping! To cut a long story short I opted to have it extracted on the spot rather than go through root canal treatment and a crown. This also saved us about Sg$2,000 and it probably wasn't any less uncomfortable. Is this another sign of the ageing process? Is it true they put horses down when they start loosing condition as their teeth deteriorate? You needn't worry about me yet though, despite my best efforts I still have plenty of condition.
So I missed work on Wednesday afternoon and the only teacher who happened to have down-time was Eric, his first ever classes where no students showed up all year. He had the pleasure of taking my 3yr old Nursery class and by all accounts enjoyed singing 'Old McDonald Has A Farm' and doing a colouring-in activity. Peter happened to turn up at the branch and caught him on camera.

On Sunday night after work we met Peter at Marina Bay Sands Theatre Complex to see Jersey Boys. I hope you all got to see it. We loved the way it told the story of how the four blue-collar NY kids, who had each spent time behind bars for 'small misdemeanours', became one of the greatest successes in pop music history. It was interesting to discover the origins of some of their hit songs Sherry, Stay, Oh What a Night and Can’t Take My Eyes Off You. 

Listening to the familiar hits reminded me of days living in the terrace house in Dawson St, Ballarat (circa 1976) when the students next door bought a copy of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons Greatest Hits. All we had to do was knock on the wall and ask them to turn it up louder. Peter, who unlike either of us can carry a tune, couldn't help himself and sang throughout the performance. I tried to limit myself to just toe tapping but by the encore I couldn't help but be seen jiving in the seat. On the platform waiting for the train home we were approached by a local who couldn't help but ask what we were doing as Peter and I tried to imitate the smooth moves of the band. When we got home we went straight onto uTube to see and hear more of them, we just couldn't get enough. This morning Peter sent us a text as we were heading to the MRT for the weekly walk that began like this: Oo Ooo Oo Oo Oo Oo Oo Ooo Walk like a man...... Funny bugger. I think my anthem on the trek might now be Big Girls Don't Cry. I'll sing it each time I try to rise from squatting over the long drop.

 Christmas decorations in Marina Bay sands Complex

 This is the first time we have seen the indoor waterfall open

This morning's walk was planned as something gentle, Eric suggests it is the classic training schedule where fine athletes taper off before a big event.  I know better, I know Peter recognises my knees are giving me trouble so he is going easy on the whole group. We walked all over Clementi Woods and then West Coast Park. This park is built entirely on reclaimed land. It has something for everyone with a bicycle obstacle course and buggies for hire, a designated dog run and overnight camping. What impressed us the most was the marsh garden which looked promising as a bird watching area but there was a lot of noise from the nearby container port terminal so we actually saw very little. Never mind, a very pleasant stroll and lovely lunch to follow at ViviCity. 

But before we got there Peter diverted us into Haw Par Villa. This is a Chinese mythological theme park complete with static concrete statues and dioramas depicting scenes of Chinese folklore. It was built in the 1930s by brothers from Myanmarr who moved to Singapore and expanded their very successful business. They were known as the Tiger Balm Kings of Rangoon. In the 80's it was taken over by the Singapore Tourism Board and restored. In our eyes it  is hideous but that probably only indicates our lack of knowledge about Chinese folklore and mythology. Founded on legends and values, the Ten Stages of Hell exhibit was particularly bizarre - a place that gave me the creeps, let alone take a child in there! According to Chinese mythology, a soul must pass through ten courts of judgment, before being allowed into heaven. In this ghastly place there are very detailed representations of these trials which include having your internal organs extracted via your belly button, your hands and head cut off, being impaled with a searingly hot metal rod. If you survive these punishments for crimes like having disrespectful thoughts about your parents, then you can enter heaven. How do people of sound mind come up with such torturous punishments?  Do people really believe it helps make young children behave better? Must say Eric and I were very lenient parents although there were times we might have considered an accompanied walk through this exhibit if it had been on hand. Maybe Mum should have had access to this when I was about 12!

And this is the way they were behaving before they saw the exhibits! Remind you of a Beatles album cover?