With May Day falling on a Thursday this year we've had another short week. We enjoyed a long sleep-in then walked through Bidadari. We were probably a bit late for most of the bird action but it was still beautiful. We came home to put the finishing touches to our corned beef lunch, complete with white sauce, cauliflower, potatoes, carrots and beans. What a treat! I'm sounding more and more like my Dad aren't I? He always mentioned food in his letters and emails.
In the late afternoon we met up with a number of friends and attended a Shakespeare in the Park Performance of 'Merchant of Venice'. Not sure I've ever been to a Shakespeare play before, maybe when at school. Thought they could have cut the lofty language and just moved through the acts a lot faster, but maybe I am just a 'philistine from the pharm'. The staging and production were fabulous with a modern Singapore influence. If I went again though, I would sit on a chair in the marquee as, after sitting on the sloping ground of Fort Canning, my back and knee were sore and it took almost a week to feel normal again. Luckily there was no rain and others were envious of our our picnic of corned beef sandwiches.
As it happens, on Friday I went to plug the vacuum cleaner in only to discover it was kaput. I've been checking out the different models and prices on robot cleaners for awhile. Seeing one in action while staying in Melbourne over Christmas only further convinced me they are a good idea. I bit the bullet and bought Eric a Congratulations On Your Promotion Gift before work on that same day. Isn't he lucky.
After work on Sunday Eric went to see John Cleese. He has always been a British humour fan, appreciating their ability to be telling a very ordinary story but then drop in a line that you all relate to and laugh at. John didn't let him down, Eric came home singing his praises even though at 76 he has probably seen his best performances. John opened his show with an alimony joke, as you might expect. But then went on to share details of his uni days shared with David Frost, Michael Palin, Graham Chapman, Eric Idle, Terry Jones to name a few. How amazing that they all shared their student days at Cambridge together! If they hadn't, what might have been? No Monty Python, Faulty Towers, The Frost Report and the film 'A Fish Called Wanda' are just a few of the collaborations. Cleese was very entertaining apparently but when they caught the shuttle bus home the entertainment continued. An American passenger who had just seen the show rang his mate and retold the whole show into his phone but loud enough for everyone to hear. Apparently everyone was giggling but the caller was oblivious. That session was free, so good though, they were wondering if in fact it was a set up.
Monday we walked from Bukit Timah to Mc Richie Reserve. This is a 12 km trail so took a little longer than usual though not as taxing as the steps on the hill.
Some different challenges
1956 is one a Year of the Monkey
We made it to the reservoirWe had a quick lunch while a heavy downpour did its thing and then rushed home and out again to meet Doug and Kay, friends from way back. In fact Doug was our Best Man almost 35 yrs ago. Kay gave up full time work last year and is now on call for her sister, Sheryl, as a child-minder. Cheryl is a surgeon and so is her husband Michael. They are attending the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons Conference at Marina Bay Sands so Kay and Doug are here too, looking after 8 yr old Will. They have to spend the week on the 47th floor of Marina Bay Sands Hotel. Tough life.
view from their balcony
Eric and Doug went out to walk the local Heritage Trail, Kay and I stayed in with Will. He was busy with Minecraft while we had no trouble filling in the time catching up on all the exploits of our children and holidays we have enjoyed. When they returned I joined the boys on the boat (top deck) while they had a swim to cool off. You have to admit the infinity pool is impressive at 57 storeys.
We walked them to the Singapore Flyer where they had promised Will an evening of lights and we went on to Millenia Walk for dinner at Madam Saigon. Loved their fresh salads and delicious flavors. Doug caught the train out to Serangoon on Wed morning and we showed him what life in the 'burbs is like. Not quite the same view out our window as his.
Tuesday morning while I went for a swim Eric found us a new ironing board. He leant on the last one and it hasn't been the same since. This time we have a full-sized one instead of the Asian sized one we have been putting up with. A big improvement for anyone who has back trouble. I can vouch for that as I used it in the afternoon while Luke had a sleep. We were looking forward to him arriving but to our disappointment he landed on us with a heavy cold and looked lousy. After a quick lunch we dosed him up on Chinese herbal mixture and sent him to bed for a few hours. When he surfaced we put him under the towel for the full inhalation treatment and followed that up with hot lemon, garlic and honey. We were wondering if he was starting to think it might have been better to bypass our place but in fact he told us he appreciated the treatment. Maybe he was just making sure I wasn't missing out on the Mothers Day experience. By the time he left in the evening after a very pleasant dinner at Plonk he was looking better but still in need of a good rest. Lets hope he gets a comfortable flight on to Istanbul and then Nuremberg. From there he takes a 7 day cruise on the Scenic Jade Barge through to Amsterdam. Tough life these novice Travel Agents have attending PD. I got to go to Kota Kinabalu for a week, after many years of service in the NT, Eric got to go to Adelaide for 3 days!
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