Revisit to Bukit Timah

In my first year in Singapore Bukit Timah Hill was the site of many physical struggles as we endeavoured to prepare ourselves for the Annapurna trek. It has been almost 2 years since my last visit, not because I couldn't face it, but because it has been closed to the public while work has been undertaken to upgrade steps, tracks,etc. It it now accessible to the public but only on the weekends so unfortunately we still cannot go to the top....Too bad!!! There are bike tracks open around the base so we used these for Mondays walk. We were a very small group as some were delivering the holiday program and others were not well. An ex Morris Allen employee was visiting, Anne from New Zealand, was staying with the Smith's so she joined us as well. It was a very pleasant walk, a bit slippery in spots, but otherwise not overly demanding.
We did see some very flexible ladies stretching beside the quarry and a little bit of wildlife.

It was a bit of a reunion week as Michael and Deb Canaway were also in town on their way to the UK. They arrived in Singapore at the same time as us and we travelled to Portugal with them in our June break in 2013. A group of us convened at Sque Bar for dinner and drinks to catch up with them on Monday night. 

  I spent Tuesday pottering around, even baking an apple cake, for the evening's card night. Instead of cooking dinner we ate at the local hawkers before cards and then had dessert at home. It was the usual night of hilarity, resulting in a wish list for MAE candidates for the new intake...very little input from me but the other 3 definitely have plenty of Musts and Must nots! Much to June's surprise she won the cards, and apparently went on to win her tennis on Thursday as well so a pleasing week for her.
The rest of the week was spent getting some MAE worksheets finished before the holidays and trying to avoid the germs that my work colleagues appear to be sharing freely.

MAE Great Race

Finally the big day arrived. After stopping in at Little India to buy marigolds to adorn our hats I met Helen and Kathy for lunch before moving on to the designated meeting place. The theme for this year was Á Novel Idea'and teams were very creative in their book/costume choice. Our costume was dictated by the desire to keep cool.

50 Shades of Grey, Clockwork Orange, The Lion, The witch and the Wardrobe, One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest.

Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Red is My Name, Peter Pan.

 Our clues took us all around central Singapore and despite exploring the area many times previously, it is amazing how many new things/places we visited. By the time we reached the finishing point, Wine Mansions, an old favourite, we were well and truly ready to sit down and have a drink, or two! The winners of the day were the One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest team and the three old ladies (that's us) were the runners up. We were more than happy with that as we had had a great day.

Weary, a little dishevelled, but happy!

After such a big Monday, Tuesday was an extremely slow day. In fact the rest of the week was the same. By Friday I decided I had better stir myself so I visited 
the National Gallery to see the Reframing Modernism exhibition. As you approach the Gallery there is a new "Árt Connector " walkway which has a variety of art works.

Artworks on the Art Connector

 Reframing Modernism explores the ways in which modern artists from Europe and Southeast Asia are alike or unlike. The exhibition was spaced over three galleries and I found the first 2 to my liking but not the third one. Venice, the Yellow Sail was easily my favourite but there were a few others I also liked.

Venice, The Yellow Sail by Albert Marquet

Marriage of Palms-Bou Saada by Henry Valensi, My Interior, Paris by Leonard Foujita

As I left the exhibition I heard the sounds of singing and music, and following my ear, I came upon kids rehearsing for Singapore Rhapsodies, a series of free concerts by young musicians from a variety of local schools. The MC was a very confident young boy and the dance performance showed kids are the same the world over...looking to the one or two who look like they know what they are doing. The musicians were very accomplished and played some unusual instruments.