I spent far too many hours watching the Olympics on telly last week, but I did get the ironing done between sessions prone on the couch. Mind you, I could do that while I did the vacuuming. The papers have been slamming our athletes, but I say, ' Good on you, you have given up a lot to get there and we can't all be winners on the day'. So many more countries competing these days and it will never be what it was. Certainly not the same knowing drugs play a part but I love the passion of the spectacle. Where else would you find coaches stripping down to their undies? The strangest moment for me though was watching a team of synchronized swimmers working out to ' Black Betty'. I first heard this rock song in the 70's but got more attached to it when Spiderbait re-recorded it, being a band from Finley just across the river from Cobram. The origin and meaning of the lyrics are subject to debate. Historically the "Black Betty" may refer to the nickname given to a musket, a bottle of whiskey, a whip, or a prisoner transfer wagon. None seem particularly likely to come to mind as your eyes take in the petite sequined forms of the girls in the teams on the pool deck.
Our rail passes for the trip to Japan arrived by Fedex delivery of Friday. We will spend the first few days in Tokyo and catch up with Yoshi in the evenings. Then we make our way to Kyoto and surrounds by train using these tourist passes which are apparently only available if purchased before you arrive.
Eric has caught some Pokemon, or should I say the Pokemon Go phenomena has caught Eric? He announced out of the blue on Saturday night that he had lost all his balls. He didn't know what to do. Neither did I. My students explained to me the next day that all he has to do is go to an outlet that is a Pokestop which provides players with items, such as eggs, pokeballs, and potions. They are typically located at places of interest and marked on the maps. I haven't heard anymore so I guess he has reloaded.
For myself, I've been somewhat technology challenged this week my with ipad playing up and the screen on my laptop slowly disintegrating. One pixelated line at a time. Lucky I have had the Olympics on TV to watch. What will I do next week? Oh yes, we have visitors. Very excited that Luke will be here for a Flight Centre Conference over the weekend but we get to spend time with him on Friday morning. He and Eric can catch Pokemon together. Then his in-laws, Mervyn and Yvonne, arrive Sunday.
It was quite a busy week at work with the P3 classes studying food and its sources. This week's lesson was about honey and involved making pancakes with honey at Kovan. At the same time the P4 classes were doing rocks and to produce some inspired writing I had the classes make pet rocks . This was the result and will soon feature on MAE Facebook page.
On Monday the walkers met at Clementi MRT and walked through to West Coast Park.
Then on to Haw Par Villa, where you could say there is something for everyone, before lunch at VivoCity. There were a number of visitors who joined the group today and others who had never been to this place of wonder.
I swam instead, then in the evening we went to Kampong Glam. We haven't been in this area for some time and we wanted to make sure we returned before we leave. The area is an eclectic blend of culture and history, location of the original Sultanate's Istana and state mosque, but also a trendy lifestyle spot with graffiti-lined lanes, quirky boutiques and hip bars. This evening we were amused by a group of men unsuccessfully trying to fly their drone between the buildings.
We enjoyed a beautiful middle eastern dinner at the Beruit Grill. We enjoy the lavish soft furnishings here and the food is good too. We shared a cold mezze platter then the mixed grill. No, Eric didn't eat all that meat himself! On the way home we had a drink at Blu Jazz for old times' sake but managed to walk by Divine Bar in Park View Square. Save that for Sandy's last trip. By coincidence, her trip here 2 years ago featured in our Google Photo Assistant this week.
On Tuesday we got up early to catch some birds in the Venus Drive corner of McRitchie Reserve. We were doubtful of the heavy looking clouds as we left but were blessed as it remained fine while we were walking. We heard so many birds but they were very hard to spot in the dense, wet foliage and dull light. We did bump into a group of American bird watchers on a guided walk when they were looking at an Abbott's Babbler, a first sighting for us, and we were lucky to have some experts with us.
Then we caught the train to Toa Payoh and walked to Whampoa to track down a dragon fountain. I first saw this on the local TV station between Olympic events. They were running a short doco on old Singapore relics like the original dragon playgrounds and this sculpture really caught my interest. Apparently in the 70's and 80's various dragon sculptures were built in the heartlands, so this one depicting a dragon emerging skyward from the water, became a symbolic landmark of the area that was built at the same time. Nowadays the 4m fountain stands right beside the busy Central Expressway (CTE) where at the time it would have been in a very peaceful, and much larger park. The fountain no longer functions and the mosaic porcelain scales that cover its body show signs of age from years of exposure to sun and rain. The pieces include cracked crockery and marbles as well as some that appear to be purposely created. For all that, I'm glad we found it. Locals want to see it maintained, there is a belief here that dragons bring good luck.
Reminds us of the one that greets weary drivers arriving in the outskirts of Darwin as they pass by Finlay's Rocks at Yarrawonga. I wish I had timed how long it took the one patient woman to mosaic it. For many months, but it may have been more than a year, we would see her painstakingly making progress in all kinds of weather.
Our rail passes for the trip to Japan arrived by Fedex delivery of Friday. We will spend the first few days in Tokyo and catch up with Yoshi in the evenings. Then we make our way to Kyoto and surrounds by train using these tourist passes which are apparently only available if purchased before you arrive.
Eric has caught some Pokemon, or should I say the Pokemon Go phenomena has caught Eric? He announced out of the blue on Saturday night that he had lost all his balls. He didn't know what to do. Neither did I. My students explained to me the next day that all he has to do is go to an outlet that is a Pokestop which provides players with items, such as eggs, pokeballs, and potions. They are typically located at places of interest and marked on the maps. I haven't heard anymore so I guess he has reloaded.
For myself, I've been somewhat technology challenged this week my with ipad playing up and the screen on my laptop slowly disintegrating. One pixelated line at a time. Lucky I have had the Olympics on TV to watch. What will I do next week? Oh yes, we have visitors. Very excited that Luke will be here for a Flight Centre Conference over the weekend but we get to spend time with him on Friday morning. He and Eric can catch Pokemon together. Then his in-laws, Mervyn and Yvonne, arrive Sunday.
It was quite a busy week at work with the P3 classes studying food and its sources. This week's lesson was about honey and involved making pancakes with honey at Kovan. At the same time the P4 classes were doing rocks and to produce some inspired writing I had the classes make pet rocks . This was the result and will soon feature on MAE Facebook page.
On Monday the walkers met at Clementi MRT and walked through to West Coast Park.
Then on to Haw Par Villa, where you could say there is something for everyone, before lunch at VivoCity. There were a number of visitors who joined the group today and others who had never been to this place of wonder.
I swam instead, then in the evening we went to Kampong Glam. We haven't been in this area for some time and we wanted to make sure we returned before we leave. The area is an eclectic blend of culture and history, location of the original Sultanate's Istana and state mosque, but also a trendy lifestyle spot with graffiti-lined lanes, quirky boutiques and hip bars. This evening we were amused by a group of men unsuccessfully trying to fly their drone between the buildings.
We enjoyed a beautiful middle eastern dinner at the Beruit Grill. We enjoy the lavish soft furnishings here and the food is good too. We shared a cold mezze platter then the mixed grill. No, Eric didn't eat all that meat himself! On the way home we had a drink at Blu Jazz for old times' sake but managed to walk by Divine Bar in Park View Square. Save that for Sandy's last trip. By coincidence, her trip here 2 years ago featured in our Google Photo Assistant this week.
On Tuesday we got up early to catch some birds in the Venus Drive corner of McRitchie Reserve. We were doubtful of the heavy looking clouds as we left but were blessed as it remained fine while we were walking. We heard so many birds but they were very hard to spot in the dense, wet foliage and dull light. We did bump into a group of American bird watchers on a guided walk when they were looking at an Abbott's Babbler, a first sighting for us, and we were lucky to have some experts with us.
Then we caught the train to Toa Payoh and walked to Whampoa to track down a dragon fountain. I first saw this on the local TV station between Olympic events. They were running a short doco on old Singapore relics like the original dragon playgrounds and this sculpture really caught my interest. Apparently in the 70's and 80's various dragon sculptures were built in the heartlands, so this one depicting a dragon emerging skyward from the water, became a symbolic landmark of the area that was built at the same time. Nowadays the 4m fountain stands right beside the busy Central Expressway (CTE) where at the time it would have been in a very peaceful, and much larger park. The fountain no longer functions and the mosaic porcelain scales that cover its body show signs of age from years of exposure to sun and rain. The pieces include cracked crockery and marbles as well as some that appear to be purposely created. For all that, I'm glad we found it. Locals want to see it maintained, there is a belief here that dragons bring good luck.
Reminds us of the one that greets weary drivers arriving in the outskirts of Darwin as they pass by Finlay's Rocks at Yarrawonga. I wish I had timed how long it took the one patient woman to mosaic it. For many months, but it may have been more than a year, we would see her painstakingly making progress in all kinds of weather.
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