Pedant Society, Vol 2

Seen at a cafe in Singapore. What exactly do you think happens at a "flee market"? Everyone runs away as fast as possible? Or they buy people who can run away very fast? The mind boggles...

Pedant Society, Vol 1

Seen at Borders, Singapore. Do you think that the first piece of advice in the "Smalll Business" section is that they buy a decent word processing package?

Little Kent and a little hungry

We went on a tour of Singapore last weekend, and one of the places that I had read about and was keen to go was Little Kent. Now, I knew that Singapore had China town, and a Little India, so I was eager to see what Little Kent was like. Tens of middle-aged ladies talking about butter? Men growing hops and barley, and sitting on tractors?


As it turned out, it was not quite like that, but was a lovely (cue Kent-terms) place to visit, and all of the street names were named after towns in Kent. Mainstone, Folkstone, Deal etc, so it felt a little like home. I've even looked at the street directory here, and there is a Lambeth Walk, and a Bedford Road, so more exciting road name pictures to come. Where's little Bedford? I think thats coming next July.

Some of the houses around that area were lovely, and it was quite nice to see that they were in really good condition. And loads of the people there were British, and one nice British chap even said hullo, Famous Five style as I walked past his house.

This was strange, because I had just been standing in the middle of the road like a crazy man taking a picture of a street sign, with cars going either side of me. He must have thought that a cross between Evel Knievel and an amateur photographer had just stepped off of the plane.

After exploring Little Kent, we had a bit of an exploration trip. One of the places we went was the site of one of the last battles of Singapore before it fell in WWII. Right on top of a hill, with spectacular views of Singapore, it seemed to be the ideal place for a last stand.

There was a tank there, and a nice plaque to tell a bit of a story. There was a class full of kids there as well, which was a poignant reminder to us all; never visit anything of any interest when school holidays are on. Ever.

We were a little peckish after all this excitement, and headed off to get some food. Here's a pic I took of an Indian chap flinging some dough to make roti prata, whish those of you in Singapore earlier this years will know and love!!

肉骨茶

Today we had Bah Kut Teh. This is one of my all-time favourite dishes in Singapore. It's a kind of pork dish, served in a soup with rice and other vegetables. There's also a kind of fried dough that you can dunk in the soup. The soup itself is quite peppery, and herbal (unfortunately, I can't think of anything in the UK to compare it to, except a peppery kind of meat broth soup. Sorry!). It's meant to be quite good for you, and usually does wonders for my newby flu. Alas, I am still struggling today. But the Bah Kut Teh was good, as always.

The Youtiao (fried dough) is a popular kind of breakfast dish in different parts of Asia, and we used to have it in China quite a lot for a snack (served with warm soy milk). Its's also popular in Hong Kong, where I think I had the biggest (and most unhealthy) version I can remember for breakfast. I was full for nearly a day after that!!

Yes, very nice, I buy from Bangkok.....

I have a cold today, I always get one when I first return to Singapore. I think I caught this one from a smaller Liverpool fan. Spent a night bunged up, and then went to the gym to feel even worse!

Later, we are going to try to take a bus from the house here to my office. It looks like it is going to be a bit of a task, but I guess the commute is no longer than that which I might have had in London. And at least the buses here have air-con!!

Yesterday something very odd happened. A total stranger approached me in Ya Kun Kaya Toast in Toa Payoh, and complemented me on my t-shirt. Then asked me if I was a tourist. Then asked how I like Singapore. And then gave me his name-card. I'm not sure why I seem to attract such oddities, but the same kind of thing has happened before. So, I just make nice, leave a reasonable amount of time, then run for my life.

So tell me again: which one did I order before?

Elena and I found a new microbrewery in Singapore, quite by accident. Unlike Brewerkz and Paulaner, this one serves beer that is quite Singaporean in flavour, with the lager having lemongrass in it, and the bittter having gula melaka, the brown palm sugar tapped from the coconut tree. Even got free bar snacks. And, even round the corner from the Penny Black pub.



Corporate sponsorship of the Smith Jones and the odd Barham trip next year? Already on it.....

Merlion seeks development for friendship, company and long walks

Visited an old friend today. He's still there, but he is going to be getting a lot of company soon when the IR and Marina Bay developments really get going.

Also in today's news: Bought shoes, had shoes resoled. Looked at more shoes. Elena gets blister.

What time's our connection....?

We've arrived in Singapore finally, after a mammoth flight from Gatwick to Singapore, via Dubai. Miles of checking in, endless queues, and overweight baggage, but at least we got a couple of free food vouchers, heh heh! Emirates managed to delay our flight from Gatwick, meaning that we had a very tight schedule for the connecting flight on to Changi. I reserved the lamb before we flew for my main meal, and Elena got the airline-ubiquitous chicken and mash, but it's all good.

We managed to run through Dubai airport, spurning the opportunity to buy a Lamborghini (again), and made the flight to Changi with a few minutes to spare. A few bumps later, and we are here in Singapore. Hot as hell, but in one piece.

Shangers and Singers......

The more erudite of you will notice that the pic at the top is not Singapore. Aha! Caught! Well, I've been playing around with the title to the blog, and have settled on this picture from Shanghai. I'd hoped to use one from Singapore, but I don't have one quite as clear as this one of Pudong.

What's key is getting the sky in so that the blog title shows up. And anyway, I love this picture for two reasons; one, its a great picture on a clear day in a town i love, and; two, it was taken by my better half. So there.

George, George...George of the Jungle

It's amazing how much George has grown; from a stroppy ball of fur to a stroppy big ball of fur. But at least she doen't keep her claws out now, and we have donated far less blood to the carpet than we used to.

Leaving the Bosom of Academia

I left Nottingham today, not for the last time - I still have my viva - but I pretty much moved out. Most of my stuff had been moved out before we left for Ningbo, but there were a few odds and ends to be tied up, forms to be signed (of course), and one last beer at the Sir John. All in all, another frantic day.

I'm not sad to be leaving - I've had five great years there - but there were one or two moments when I remembered some of the fun times I have had there. After all, it was where I met my future wife! But now we must look forward, and into employment, and beyond the warm bosom of academia, and those long mornings and late lunches.

Boxed Up

So we have only a few days left before we fly out to Singapore. There's lots to be done, but we are getting there, we think. We've nearly packed up our boxes to send to the freight company soon. We might even be able to do it tomorrow.

Then there are issues of tax to clear up, various accounts to cancel, handphone contracts to cancel (done), and so on. We've done most of it, and my car has been sold (and insurance cancelled) et cetera. It's a frantic period for both of us, because we both have work to do on our PhDs as well.

There are a lot of loose ends to tie up, but we are both looking forward to the BBQ on Sunday, and eating lots of nice sausages!

The Uncharitable Shield

It always feels good to beat them. And it's a feeling we're getting used to as well. Thanks Jose for another enjoyable Sunday afternoon. And thanks Rafa for another piece of Silver at Anfield South. YNWA.

Brownies!

Went to our favourite deli today, we just can't get enough of the brownies there. The nice man was even kind enough to let us take a picture.


Elena had the Brownie (although I helped quite a lot!!).


And, for me, the sticky date fruitcake. I guess that you just can't escape your nationality.


It's hard to describe the Brownie; melt in your mouth gooey, and the kind of richness that makes you wish you had a bigger mouth. But there are Brownies elsewhere, and half of the fun is doing Brownie research. I think that that can be a recurring theme of the blog; the quest for the perfect Brownie. Watch this space!

Air Travel

Dreadful and scary news coming out of the UK at the moment, with serious threats to trans-Atlantic flights. Let's hope that this is resolved soon.

We fly out to Singapore in two weeks; it's a little unnerving, but you have to have faith in the security folks at our airports.

Up To Date with 07/07/07

I forgot to add...you can also stay up to date with our wedding plans; the link is on the right ------>

We'll try to put pictures and other exciting links on there as well, so you can see what we've been up to.

The First of Many....?

I've decided that I'll keep a blog whilst in Singapore, to allow everyone to stay in touch whilst I'm away. I'm not sure how often I'll update it, but I'll try my best!

I might even try to do a podcast if I learn how, but I'll try to walk before I run.

Just to start us off, here's a pic of Elena and I a couple of years ago, having a beer at Paulaner in Singapore. Great place for a beer, nice and warm outside, as long as Christian fundamentalists don't grab hold of you!