The Worst Bits

It's only fair to offer a lit of balance after my last post, especially as I sit here with a swollen eye, having been bitten on the face - twice - by a ruddy mosquito. I don't get bitten often, to be fair, but when I do, they usually have a field day. So, in my book, insect life in the tropics definitely falls into this category. There are no malarial mosquitoes in Singapore, but there is Dengue Fever, caused by infection with a virus transmitted by the Aedes mosquito. Singapore is hot on Dengue prevention - achieved through stopping the Aedes mosquitoes breeding. They breed in stagnant water, including in the home, so people here are very vigilant about emptying the water from flower vases regularly, for example. The picture on the right is an Aedes mosquito biting a human, taken by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. I wonder how they got the bitee to volunteer?

It is a beautiful day today, and the weather for the last few days has been glorious, not too humid, and almost cool in the evenings. We have had occasional bouts of wind, in fact, and since we live on the 22nd floor, we can hear it howling around the corridors created by the high buildings in the neighbourhood. I love that, but the humidity is still a challenge. At my age, it's not always possible to separate a hot spell from a hot flush, but when the two arrive together, it's not good.

And finally, television. Now you may ask yourself, what is she thinking? Here she is, living in a tropical paradise, in a vibrant city, surrounded by wonderful places to visit (and working 12 hour days), what possible use could she possibly have for the delights of the small screen? If I tell you that we don't get Strictly Come Dancing, would that make everything clear? In fact, we don't get any of the UK terrestrial channels at all. To be fair, Strictly will start to be shown from next Sunday on the BBC Entertainment channel, but it's the fourth series (the one that has just finished was the sixth series, for those of you who are not aficionados of the show). Well, at least it takes away the stress of trying to work out who will win the danceoff each week.

And that's pretty much it for the worst bits of life in Singapore. Not exactly a long list, and seriously outweighed by the best bits. Come and see for yourself.