This time last week, Chris and I were getting ready to go the Singapore Grand Prix - the first I'd ever been to, the first one ever held in Singapore and the first ever GP night race. Before we went, I wasn't sure I would enjoy it, but I found myself completely caught up in the excitement of the race. What I hadn't anticipated was the noise. The people who were entertaining us had provided earplugs, which was just as well as the noise would have been deafening without them. It wasn't just the noise, it was the vibration too; I was sitting outside drinking water from a plastic glass, and the rim of the glass started to rattle against my teeth as the cars went past. If you click on the link below, you'll see some great pictures, of the race, and of Singapore looking absolutely stunning.
Bringing F1 to Singapore is just one of a number of changes going on here. When we first arrived, just over a year ago, I couldn't imagine hearing the the C word used in a public performance, but last week that's exactly what happened at Singapore's staging of The Vagina Monologues. And it didn't stop with the actress, she had the whole audience chanting along with her. It was a great night, at one of the theatres I'd not been to before - the Drama Centre theatre - which is inside the National Library. The National Library is a stunning building, with two outdoor gardens inside (if that makes sense) ; one of them is pictured at the top right. The National Library traces its history back to the establishment of the first public library, suggested by Sir Stamford Raffles himself, the founder of modern Singapore.
Singapore is really serious about the business of reading. When Singapore gained its independence from Malaysia in 1965 and the country's population spread into the suburbs, libraries were established in the new towns built by the Housing and Development Board (HDB). The HDB is responsible for public housing in Singapore, a big responsibility since almost 90% of the population lives in HDB housing, largely in "new towns" like Woodlands and Tampines. These townships are self-contained entities, with shops, restaurants and other services included as part of the build. The government, through the HDB, uses public housing to promote social cohesion by ensuring that no particular racial group concentrates together in townships or estates. While living in public housing is seen as a stigma in some countries, this is not true of Singapore, where most of the residential housing developments are publicly built. There seems, in fact, to be very little poverty in Singapore, and very little crime also. Doubtless, the two are connected.
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