The Best Bits

In the time honoured fashion, as the end of another year approaches, writers look back and reflect on the year that has gone, so here are some of our best bits from 2007.

• Burns Night. Our first in Singapore, and the first ever in my experience to feature tinned haggis. Canned entrails notwithstanding, we had a fantastic party, aided and abetted no doubt by several wee drams, including my favourite, the Macallan Elegancia, which spawned the following - really poncy sounding to me now - description in my Burns Night post: "It's like drinking vanilla flavoured brioche smeared with the finest honey". What was I thinking?????
• Chinese New Year. Our first in Asia, although we have long celebrated the occasion at our favourite Chinese restaurant, the Lotus Garden in Earls Court. 2009 will be the year of the ox, and we are very much looking forward to welcoming it. For those of you who are not already familiar with the details of Chinese New Year (why have you not read my post on the subject?), let me enlighten you. The Chinese zodiac is based on a 12 year cycle, with each year of the cycle named after Each year of the 12 year cycle is named after one of the original 12 animals. Each animal has a different personality and different characteristics. The animal is believed to be the main factor in each person's life that gives them their traits, success, and happiness in their lifetime. It is said that those who are born in the yof the ox are patient, do not say much, but inspire confidence in others. They tend to be eccentric, and they anger easily, apparently. They have fierce tempers and although they speak little, when they do they are quite eloquent. They are mentally and physically alert. While they are generally easy-going, they can be very stubborn, and do not like to be opposed. Me, I'm a snake!
• Great movies. Dan In Real Life, Lust, Caution, Stardust, Wall-E, Bienvenue Chez Les Ch'tis and a team outing to Mamma Mia, to name but a few. Singapore is a little lacking in the art house movie culture, but does run several film festivals during the year which goes some way to making up for this cinematic deficiency. I went to most of the films that the Singapore French Film Festival showed this year, and was reminded how utterly different French cinema is from most of what the U.S. produces. French films are introspective, with plots that typically revolve around individual or familial angst or even neuroticism. Tragedy and joy are small scale and personal, but probably closer to universal truths about life than whatever messages are contained in most blockbusters. The occasional American film - My Life Without Me for example - seeks to prove me wrong, but otherwise, as my friend Steve would say, "Je reste ma valise".
• The Singapore marathon. Sponsored by Standard Chartered, this was my first ever sortie into group running. Not that I ran the marathon of course, but I did briskly walk the 10K! I finished ahead of 1500 competitors (the positive spin), but since there were 7500 people in the race, I guess that means that I was beaten by 6000 others. It all depends on your point of view. Since I had done no training whatsoever, I don't feel too bad, and there's always next year...........
• Corduroy Mansions. Alexander McCall Smith's new online novel. Nothing to do with Singapore, apart from the fact that I can access it here daily through the Internet. For those of you who have not been turned on to him, he writes the most wonderful novels - The No 1 Ladies Detective Agency series and the Sunday Philosophy Club, featuring the wonderful Isabel Dalhousie are but two examples. Corduroy Mansions is his first (free) online novel, available through the daily Telegraph online. Log on now and you can read, or listen to, the chapters to date.
• Bali. We went there in March and had a wonderful time. Super relaxing, daily massages, wonderful restaurants; if you are thinking of a trip there, email me for recommendations.
• Learning to dive. This was one of the highlights of the year. While it was just the teensiest bit scary from time to time, it was also the most amazing experience. Read my post "Down under" if you have not already done so, for full details.
• Massage. I have not yet got used to being asked if I would like "medium pleasure" or "deep pleasure" when I go for a massage (think about it) but it is always a pleasure. While massage has been available wherever I have lived, it is super available here, and has become a weekly treat.
• Friends visiting. We have had some fabulous moments with friends who have come to stay. Highlights are the invitation from one of Singapore's principle restaurateurs to arrange a more or less immediate Masonic induction, fireworks at Clarke Quay with Saffron, an amazing dinner at Senso and brunch at the Four Seasons with Kerry, massage (I know!) with Caitlin, the Black Eyed Peas with Alison and so on and on...........

I would like to thank all of my readers for staying tuned, and to encourage you to keep reading. 2009 promises lots more adventure. If you're up for it, come and join in. If not, then just keep reading..............................

Embrace the scum

Once again, dear readers, I am using a provocative headline to tempt you in to my blog. This is not a plea to hug a villain, but the essence of an article in Singapore's "Today" freesheet which extols the virtues of the froth that occurs when one is making soup. According to "Today", soup scum contains nutrients - largely protein and fat, it would appear - and can be consumed without concern. Hmmm, it still looks yucky though.


It strikes me that it's been a while since I've written on the subject of food, so it's probably time to give it another go, given the importance of the subject to most Singaporeans. Hawker centres are a big thing here. They are open-air food complexes, basically a collection of individual stalls, where the stall-holders ply their wares - anything from carrot cake (not what you're thinking, but a savoury dish bearing no resemblance to dessert) through curry puffs ( a personal favourite) and pig's organ soup (most decidedly not a personal favourite), in a no-frills setting. The Newton hawker centre is a short drive from where we live - to be fair, not that long a walk, but this is Singapore - and one of the stalls there has the best curry puffs in town. Strangely, its only real competition in my opinion is the version sold by Ikea - just as well really, since it's the only way I can ever get Chris to go there!


Another feature of the Singapore food scene is the wet market. These are very popular here - basically open markets that sell pretty much everything, from fresh fruit to live chickens. Imagine a supermarket, then imagine something nothing like a supermarket in terms of layout, presentation, lighting, flooring (they are wet, as a result of regular washing down - remember what I said about live animals?), and you pretty much have a wet market. The one we go to from time to time (for honey mangoes rather then hens), is the Tekka market in Little India.

I was in Little India yesterday, as it happens, in search of a sari. Why a sari, you ask? Well, I had been invited to an Indian themed party and decided that a sari was the way to go. I was recommended to go to Hanifa's on Dunlop Street by the lady who sold me my Indian sandals, so off I went. I had envisaged a decent range, but not the tens of thousands on display. Now, a sari is basically a (very long) length of cloth, so how difficult can it be to choose? Very, actually. First, the material - cotton, silk crepe, heavy silk, then the design - plain, with a border, embroidered, sequined, jewelled - you get the picture, and finally colour, or colours. I settled for a beautifully flowing silk crepe in pale green blending into pale coffee, with embroidered flowers on the border. If I say so myself, it is absolutely beautiful!

Once I got it home, though, I encountered a wee problem. The shop forgot to give me the instructions on how to tie it, so I looked it up on the Internet, only to discover that I needed a petticoat. You tuck the material into the petticoat as a first step, as the base for the rest of the folding and winding, so, petticoatless, I was in something of a pickle. Necessity being the mother of invention, I decided to cut the feet off a pair of cream coloured opaque tights and tuck the material into that instead. It worked like a charm. I must say, I felt really elegant, having accessorised with kohl, the gold sandals, a jewelled bindi and the longest (and heaviest) earrings I have ever worn. No photo unfortunately, but I'll be wearing it again, so definitely the next time..........