Tweet tweet

I had lunch with my friend Steve yesterday. My regular readers will be familiar with Steve - he of the cheffing skills, technology know-how and haiku film reviews, and the one who turned me on to blogging. So there I was, bursting with pride about being a Spotify user, which Steve has ovbiously been for some time, probably several weeks before it was invented, so techno savvy is he, when he started to talk about twittering. Now twittering has reached the periphery of my consciousness, but no more. For those of you who do not know about Twitter, it is a free social networking service that enables its users to send and read other users' short messages about what they are doing on a minute by minute basis. These updates are known as tweets, and I was trying hard, but have been unable to hold myself back from wondering if the users are called twits. Whose life could possibly be interesting enough that people want to follow it so closely? Well, Britney Spears for one, it would appear; she is the most "followed" celebrity on Twitter.

As always, my mission on this blog is to educate and entertain, so here is the Wikipedia link for those of you who'd like to know more.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitter

I love Spotify!

The cyber savvy amongst you will already be turned on to Spotify, I'm sure, but for those of you who have yet to discover it, I have just 3 words - download it now. Spotify describes itself as "A world of music. Instant, simple and free" which describes it pretty accurately in my view. I'm sitting here listening to John Waite's " Missing you" having spent the last hour or so roaming through the music of my teens and twenties - Steeleye Span is up next, followed by James Taylor singing "Close your eyes", which will take me right back to my university days.

I am forever amazed by the power of music to transport me to another time and place. The picture on the left shows Kings College in old Aberdeen, where I spent a good part of the seventies learning all sorts of stuff which I never used again and subsequently forgot all about. We had some amazing parties though. I can still remember cooking curry for 40 in the small kitchen of the flat I shared with my sister, not to mention inviting the French navy for - extremely chaste - coffee (I am not making this up) with my friend Lins after a reception on a French warship in Aberdeen harbour.

My memory of those parties is that we actually spent very little money but the return - perhaps I should express it in terms of units of fun per pound - was huge. Perhaps my personal response to the world economic crisis should be to produce a recession cookbook, although Nigella is probably on the case already, working out how to add dollops of budget gorgeousness to chili with a smattering of carne.

Whenever I do the nostalgia thing I ask myself what I would do if I could have that time over again. The answer is almost always "more". More live music, more travel, more wild adventures and crazy experiences - oh yes, and definitely more boyfriends...........

Horses for courses

Singapore never ceases to surprise us. It's a small island, but we keep discovering parts of it that we had no idea existed - little enclaves that charm and delight. We discovered one of these yesterday, when we went to have breakfast with some friends. Going out for Sunday breakfast is a tradition in Singapore, and I've written before about the many brunch offerings, but this was a bit different. We went to Picotin, (http://www.picotin.com.sg/index.html) a lovely French bistro complete with boules pitch in a part of Singapore that we had not been to before. As we often find with places that are new to us, it wasn't very far from our normal flight path, but has eluded us till now. Picotin is in "Horse City", which used to house the stables for the old racecourse and is now a sort of equestrian centre with extras - extras that include a yoga centre, spa, child care and pet care facilities, as well as Picotin. One of the best things about Picotin is that they welcome dogs, so Lola came too, and very much enjoyed her first taste of bacon.

While we were there, we had a look at the pet care centre - cleverly named K9 Kampus - and we were mightily impressed. No mere boarding kennel , K9 provides the opportunity for single dogs to become pack animals - in the lap of doggy luxury. The facilities include a swimming pool (I'm not making this up), exercise yard, obstacle course, obedience training, grooming and a cafe (this last one for the owners, I'm pretty sure!). We had Lola assessed (did I just move to the upper East side of Manhattan without realising it? I have had my puppy "assessed" for entry to a day care facility) while we were there, so she starts day care this week. If she is happy there, we will be able to board her from time to time, a prospect which filled me with dread until we discovered K9.

As luck would have it, one of our favourite wine shops was having a sale, just a few hundred yards from Picotin, and we were able to pick up a few of our favourites at a bargain price, so this truly was the perfect Sunday.

Doggie delight

Lola, our miniature Schnauzer puppy, is now 6 months old. Our lives changed from the moment we bought her, on the weekend of Chinese New Year, and we are still besotted. Unfortunately, she does not sit still for long enough to have her picture taken, so this is the best I can do. This photo was taken yesterday morning, when she was feeling pretty sorry for herself, having been spayed the day before. I am glad to say that she is now back to her bouncy self, and I mean that literally - she does actually bounce her way across the room when she is excited, a bit like Zebedee from the Magic Roundabout, for those of you who remember.

Not so delightful is the dog in the apartment above, which seems to live its life on the balcony and is constantly barking to get attention. Now, while I would probably end up barking too if I had to spend my life on a balcony, ignoring the barking should help the dog understand that this is not the way to get attention (you see how well I have mastered the basic precepts of dog training?), so something is clearly not working.

I do wonder about these new neighbours actually, since the barking is not the only noise emanating from their flat. Early in the morning, late at night and at random times during the day, they appear to move heavy pieces of furniture across the floor. Either one of them is extremely indecisive and keeps changing their mind about the best spot for the dining table, or they are running part-time training programmes in "moving large items of furniture without the need to lift".

Must remember to ask if I see them in the lift.......

Dentistry de luxe

In my view, going to the dentist can never be a pleasure. I was brought up in Scotland and my first experience was with the school dentist, who operated from a portacabin in the playground, never used numbing injections, and seemed to have trained at the Marquis de Sade school of dentistry. The place we go to in Singapore could not be further from a portacabin; it is located in the penthouse suite of one of Singapore's most prestigious office buildings/shopping malls - Ngee Ann City - in the heart of the main shopping area.

When you walk into the reception area, you'd think you were in a swanky boutique hotel in the West End: reproduction Wassily chairs, gleaming granite reception desks and a huge roof terrace. There is a refreshments room off reception, with cream leather sofas and a bean to cup coffee machine that delivers free espresso while you browse through a huge selection of fancy (new, and clean, not 18 months old, dog-eared and with half the pages missing) magazines, art books and travel guides.

There is another big difference between Singaporean tooth doctors and the UK variety: there are no dental hygienists here, so the dentists do it themselves (if they charge dentist's hourly rates, I guess it explains the cream leather sofas).

So there you have it, another deep insight into the Asian economy. My next post will feature Lola, so if you are already a member of her fan club, keep reading.....

Out and about in Singapore

It seems like a while since I wrote about our social life here in Singapore, probably because puppies are not welcome at the theatre or the cinema! That said, we have been out and about a bit lately and I would like to encourage my movie going readers to check out these films, if you have not already done so. First up, Slumdog Millionaire - a well deserving Oscar winner in my view, even though I do not always agree with the Academy's choices in these matters. It was amazing - touching, gripping and enthralling all the way through. Those of you who are regular readers will be familiar with my occasional penchant for haiku reviews of films I have seen. On this occasion, I have quite frankly stolen (with permission) the haiku review of my friend Steve. His view of Slumdog Millionaire follows:

From rags to riches ?
a tale told, so very well
I'm lost, for once, for ....

Unfortunately he has not written a review of The Reader, so I will have to do my best:

Young man loves older
woman not what she seems but
less and so much more

We also went to see Menopause the Musical, which I thoroughly recommend if it comes to a theatre near you. Chris came along with me, and he wrote the haiku review for this one:

So, four hot ladies
with spring in step and on song;
each flushed with success

Here's the link, in case you fancy reading some more about it:

http://www.menopausethemusical.com/main.php?page=about

The tissue issue

The title of this post refers to the common Singaporean practice of "chope-ing" - reserving a seat in a hawker centre or food court by means of leaving a packet of tissues on the table.


At lunchtimes in the central business district (CBD) and elsewhere you will see packets of tissues on all of the tables. The message carried by the tissue packet is: "This seat is taken". You may ask yourself why anyone would respond to this informal "reserved" sign but people do. Sometimes, of course, a visitor or new resident will not understand the significance of the paper hankies and take the place regardless, but this is relatively unusual.

That said, the practice does not meet with universal approval in the minds of Singaporeans. In fact, a group of undergraduates has taken on the mission of this informal reservation system. A month or so ago seven students doled out thousands of packets of tissues in a Chinatown food centre. They were scrawled with the words: 'This seat is not taken, it's yours!' The students are hoping to encourage patrons to tell others that the seat is occupied, rather than have diners face the tissues. There is a letter in the paper today entitled "The chope-ing vigilante", written by one Rick Lim Say Kiong who has taken the decision to remove and throw away any packs of tissues that he finds at hawker stalls. The wonderfully named Singapore Kindness Movement (check out their website at http://www.singaporekindness.org.sg/), which aims to encourage Singaporeans to make a positive commitment to gracious living through simple acts of kindness in their daily lives has also thrown its weight behind the campaign, so who knows - one day we may see an end to this nefarious practice!

Life with Lola

Lola (the picture on the right) is the new love of our lives. She is 4 months old, black and silver and could rival an atomic explosion for energy. Lola is a miniature Schnauzer puppy - an unusual choice as a pet purchase for us, as our intention was to buy a Weimaraner (the picture on the left), but a Singapore apartment is not the right home for a such a large and energetic dog, so the Weim will have to wait.

It happened like this. We were at the Swiss Butcher (Singapore's best expat meatery) last Saturday, (no, of course we didn't get her there, read on.....) and there is a a pet shop in the same street, right by where the car was parked. There was a sign in the window that said they had puppies in stock; we went in - thinking to have a look but with no intention of buying just yet - and came out an hour later the proud adoptive parents of the lovely Lola. She is a bundle of fun, and has changed our lives. Ding, our housekeeper and I are the main puppy trainers, with toilet training at the top of our list. She has made considerable progress in her first week, so I am hopeful of a life where newspapers become just reading material once again sometime soon.

Training a puppy may be a labour of love, but it is definitely labour. It's really important to be firm and for your "no" to mean "no". The technique I use when she is about to start eating my shoes, for example, is to clap my hands together loudly and say an equally loud "NO!". Chris, my Psychologist husband on the other hand, tries to reason with her. It goes something like this - in a soft voice, oozing with love: "Now, Lola, stop eating those shoes, they're not a toy, sweetie".

I'll obviously have to establish myself as alpha dog in the very near future........

Tick tock

This post is dedicated to the Singaporean love of luxury watches. Not something I was aware of before we came, but something you can't miss when you live here. There are dozens and dozens of high-end watch emporia, selling all the fancy brands. The right watch is is hugely important - whether a classic marque, or a more modern designer timepiece. I was something of a Swatch girl until I arrived here, but I have fallen victim to the watch bug, and am now the proud owner of a limited edition Jaeger leCoultre Reverso watch (pictured here).

I'm stopping at one, but lots of people have many and you can even buy special watch winding boxes to keep them going all the time. Mine is wound by hand, but it would seem that your modern posh watches come equipped with automatic movement, meaning that they need neither batteries nor to be wound by hand, but are powered by the kinetic movement of the body. This is all very well while you are wearing the watch, but what about when you are not (presumably because you are favouring another of your collection )? Well you need never face this dilemma if you are the proud possessor of a watch winder box. It has a little motor that keeps the watches moving on a turntable (honestly) and therefore ready for action whenever needed. Who would have thought?

Unusually for Singapore, which has a very low crime rate, there was a major theft at the end of last year from Cortina Watch, a shop which sells all the top international watch brands. When staff opened up the shop the day after Christmas, they discovered that thieves had made away with almost 8 million Sing dollars worth of goodies. Not a very merry Christmas for Cortina, sadly.

Christmas being well and truly over, we are now en route to Chinese New Year (CNY). There are major sales going on (80% off DKNY at our local mall - you can imagine the melee) and the shops are full of traditional CNY delicacies. These are many and various - allow me to share a few with you, starting with the savoury:

• Sambal prawn rolls. These look like teeny weeny spring rolls, and are basically a sort of fried, intensely prawny crispy thing. My love of prawns made me think that I would really love these, but I'm afraid I found them overwhelmingly prawny.
• Abalone (pictured). This is available all year round, but it tends to feature on CNY dinner menus in much the same way as oysters do in France, or smoked salmon does in the UK. Basically a sea snail that comes in a variety of sizes, abalone is considered a sign of wealth and prosperity. I find the flesh rather tough and the texture not to my liking (no surprises there for my regular readers), and I have never forgotten AA Gill's (The Sunday Times restaurant critic) description of abalone, when he compared it to a certain female body part. Enough said.
• Yu sheng. Now this one I do like. This is a sort of raw fish salad (bear with me, it really is nice), which is traditionally served on the seventh day of CNY. It arrives at the table on a large serving plate, and the raw fish is accompanied by all manner of colourful raw vegetables - like shredded green and white radish, carrots and pickled ginger and topped with little crisps (gold coloured, to represent wealth), peanuts, sesame seeds, cinnamon, pepper and other spices. Every element has a meaning, and the various condiments are explained as they are added. The salad is served with very long chopsticks, which all present at the meal use to toss the salad. The higher the toss, the greater your good fortune will be. Very messy and great fun!

Moving to sweet, there are lots of choices:

• Pineapple tarts. These emanate from Peranakan cuisine and are bite-sized, buttery, sweet little treats. When we visited Malacca last year, we bought some at the mother of all pineapple tart bakeries (perhaps not quite the description used by the Malacca tourist authority, but you get my drift) and they were truly amazing. These tend to be a feature in our office in the run up to the new year holiday, although I haven't noticed any yet - must be my turn to buy.
• Nian gao. This comes in many forms, but the basic version is a glutinous rice cake, and can be pretty basic or extremely luxurious, round and filled with nuts and coconut or shaped and coloured like a fish and filled with durian. For a modern take on the traditional, you can find it translated into dumplings and even pralines.

So as we head into the year of the ox, I wish each and every one of you Gong. Xi Fa Cai!

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.