11 weeks to go

11 weeks to go and we will be on our way to Nepal again, countdown in progress while the daily step count continues in the other direction. We no longer have access to Bukit Timah but Peter has a weekly program in place already for Mondays of this last term and we will need to match it on the other days either on the hoof, in the pool or in the gym. 

We have Joan and Jim with us for a few days before we all go on to Penang for another reunion of the Butterworth teachers in Penang on Sunday. Many of them would have originally gone there in 1984 so it marks the 30th anniversary for them, we arrived one year later. Joan and Jim have just spent the last 7 weeks in Spain and are on their way home to South West Rocks after Penang. It is lovely to be able to host them, after all it is thanks to them that we are here in the first place (they were with MAE in 2002/03). That was the same year Peter arrived. 

Joan is nursing home a sore knee but we did some local walks with Jim to the Japanese Cemetery and through Bidadari to Woodleigh Park with the old Black and White homes. While in Bidadari we came across a film crew setting up. One of their drivers had wedged both passenger side wheels of a sedan into a deep gutter. There was little chance we could lift it out without one of us incurring an injury but I was able to use my bush driving experience to come up with a solution using fallen branches to chock the gutter and then drive it out. Jim loves the local tucker so he has sought out the best laksa, roti and murtabak in the few days here. He has a willing accomplice in Eric. 

While we were at work they took a trip on the Singapore Flier, inadvertently finding themselves inside the restricted zone for the F1 preparations. Practice began the next morning. They joined Peter at Lau Pa Sat for satays but as you can see Jim still managed to find a murtabak.

Friday was Adrian's birthday. 28, my goodness! That's how old I was when I had him in the Penang Specialist Centre. Fancy that, we will be on the island in a few days. Jim and Joan spent the day revisiting Jurong where they had been based 12 years ago. In the evening Jim came into my classroom to spend some time interacting with the students. In no time at all he had them all eating out of his hand. After work we all ate dinner at Bliss with a few workmates. 

We found it difficult to drag ourselves off to work on Saturday morning but imagine what we felt like on Sunday! After work in the evening we met at Nectar and Vines and then ate at our local hawker with Peter and Chen Guan. We let him order and for the first time in almost three years had fish head curry, their signature dish. Why have we been avoiding it? I don't know, it just sounds ghastly even though Vali (our Indian amah in Butterworth) was always offering it to us. Still don't like the idea of an eye watching me from within the sauce as I plunge my fork in.

Yes, Sunday was hard but we had more to look forward to, we were flying to Penang to reunite with many others from Butterworth days so it flew by. We had just enough time to dash home and collect bags before taking a taxi to the airport where Joan and Jim had been around lunchtime.