Last week for term 2

Disaster befell me on Sunday morning shortly after arriving at work when one of my front teeth 'dropped', as the children here say. I spent the day feeling like a hillbilly truck driver, but still managed to join colleagues at Timbre bar for end of term drinks.
Fortunately this weeks Monday walk was an evening one so I spent the morning visiting the dentist. The good news was she restored my tooth, but it is only a temporary fix. I am scheduled for some more permanent work when I return after the break. Hopefully the glue lasts until then!
The evening walk was to Sentosa, 'The State of Fun' according to the advertising. Universal Studios and the Aquarium are on the island along with a Casino. Many of our students go there for their holidays! but it was my first visit since living here. It was very busy and colourful but not a place I am likely to rush back to.

At the end of the walk we gathered at Marche at Vivo City to celebrate Bev's birthday...another one falling during our break away.

The Birthday Girl

On Tuesday morning I met up with Libby to do a walk through Bidadari. Bidadari Cemetery is a defunct cemetery in Singapore. There were two sections: a Muslim section, at the base of Mount Vernon, and a Christian section. The area has been slated for housing development so unfortunately the natural woodlands, ie bird haven, will disappear over the next year or two. Graves have been exhumed and The Bidadari Memorial Garden has been set up at nearby Mount Vernon Road to commemorate the cemetery.

As we were wandering we were passed several times by a very fit looking individual doing laps of the area. At the end of our circuit he stopped for a chat and it turned out he was stationed at the nearby Ghurka Regiment. The Gurkha Contingent  is a line department of the Singapore Police Force from the South Asian country of Nepal. Members of the GC are trained to be highly skilled and are selected for their display of strong discipline and dedication in their tasks. The principal role of the contingent is to be a special guard force, and it is currently used as a counter-terrorist force. There are about 2000 men stationed here.

I caught up with Robert and Maria for coffee before work on Thursday afternoon as they were heading to Italy for the holiday break. 
On Friday Libby and I took a 'birdy' walk in Punggol. We saw about 20 varieties of birds birds before getting rather wet which requiring us to cut the distance a bit. Along the Punggol Waterway there are a number of different art illustrations including this rather quirky representation of Accident.

After drying out it was time to meet with Renee to discuss the possibility of a contract for 2016.

After a delicious birthday lunch and cake with my colleagues at work on Saturday I didn't really need to eat much but I had joined with Libby, Eric, Robert and Maria at Joe's in Kovan for dinner. When I returned home my fellow  'cavies' had decorated my room with balloons so of course we had to have a small 'toast' before bed!