Birthdays and testing week

After work on Saturday night I met June for a trip in to Marina Bay. She has a sister visiting soon and wanted to have a look at the light show from the MBS side of the Bay. It was a beautiful evening and we saw some of the fireworks at the National Day Rehearsal as well as the light show. Images are displayed on water sprays with accompanying music. As the show progressed the crowds scattered as a breeze picked up and we were all treated to a cooling shower.

After dinner at Joe's on Sunday night we met at Payer Lebar for our morning walk, finishing at Promenade. The walk got off to a very pleasant stroll along a number of canals to the Stadium. The Kallang Waves building near Stadium houses a number of sporting facilities including a 10 pin Bowling Alley and Rock Climbing walls. We were lucky enough to catch the olive-backed sunbird enjoying some time in the flowers.

 As we approached the bridge we were to cross over to Promenade, the skies got darker and darker and we were lucky to reach the cover of the bridge just as the rain started. We had to spend some time sheltering under the bridge before continuing on as the rain eased...unfortunately it didn't ease completely so by the time we reached Promenade I was pretty wet...at least the rain here doesn't make you cold.

 As Kathy and Eric share a birthday on July 20th dual celebrations were held on Monday night at an old favourite, Wine Mansions. Peter did his usual tribute in the form of specially penned lyrics for both of them and as it was the big 60 for Eric we had a trivia quiz about him as well. It was a great night and they both seemed to enjoy themselves.

Libby and I, birthday couple with Renee, Peter

Steve and I, group, Kathy with her new Shawn the Sheep

 On Tuesday I had a few domestic chores to do including trying to find out why my phone no longer plays music. It turned out to be a speaker problem and at a repair cost of $300+ I decided I could live without music on my phone! In the evening the girls came round for a quiet game of cards which was won by Helen...again.
As Eric's actual birthday was Wednesday we continued the celebrations at a combined staff meeting at Kovan before work. He seems to have grown attached to the crown!
Luckily it was a relatively easy week at work as this was test week.

Kathy had organised a trip to the 'dragon kilns' at Jurong on Thursday so a small group of us treked out west. Built in 1940, Thow Kwang was based on a traditional Chinese design that dates back thousands of years. It was one of up to 20 kilns that produced the clay latex cups used in the rubber plantations that were dotted around the island. Local white clay was freely available in the area. As the plantations closed, demand for the cups waned, so the kilns turned to making ceramic pots. When demand for pots dropped, many of the kilns closed. But a revival in the community’s interest in potting in the early 2000s saw two kilns gasp back to life.

Yulianti Tan’s father-in-law bought the kiln in 1965, and she now operates it with her husband. She has been educating people about the kiln for 16 years and raising awareness, particularly among young people, about pottery-making, the kiln’s heritage and culture, and the unique effects that come from firing in the dragon kiln.

How it works 

Inside, the Thow Kwang kiln reaches almost 2m in height and can hold thousands of pieces, packed on shelves in sections called chambers. It is built on a gentle slope with a gradient between 15 and 22 degrees. The mouth at the bottom is 2.5m wide and the structure is 27m long. 

Traditionally, a ceremony takes place before the kiln is lit, with music and food offerings of meat, plus wine or Chinese tea. Gold paper is burnt.

It takes 24 hours to pre-heat the fire box, or mouth. Slowly, the subsequent chambers are lit, with updrafts pulling the air and fire through. Wooden planks, salvaged from pallets, are poked through stoke holes along the spine, or body. Teams of people take shifts to “feed” the kiln at intervals, 24 hours a day. The tail and chimney at the top of the slope are where the air and smoke are drawn out. The shape of the fire-breathing mouth gives the kiln its evocative name, along with the roaring sound it makes when operational. 

June and I met Peter at Hougang on Friday morning for a walk along the river to Punggol. Punggol Park has been undergoing some work both with new shelters and refurbishment of the play/exercise equipment. It is so good to see such a variety of ages using the new installations. 

When we reached Waterway Point we decided we deserved a drink...just managed to beat the rain...we discovered a Six Charms display in the centre area of the shops. 6 Charms Singapore, a feng shui consultancy, is named after the six aspects of life (wealth, health, career, family harmony, marriage and romance). This particular display was all about weddings as one of their services is helping their clients chose an auspicious wedding date.

Michael departs

Despite it pouring with rain when we got up for our walk on Monday we decided that, as the start point was a good hour away, it couldn't possibly continue to rain for that long...we were to be proven wrong! Our walk began at Kent Ridge and since we last walked this, a long stretch of the footpath has been roofed. Unfortunately it ran out before the rain did! We have walked this route many times but every time there is something new/different to see. This time we passed a newly installed memorial to the Battle of Pasir Panjang. The battle took place between 13 and 14 February 1942, and was part of the final stage of the Empire of Japan's invasion of Singapore during World War II. 

Memorial for the Battle of Pasir Panjang, Michael performs 'Singing in the Rain'

The walk continues through Hort Park, another favourite place, full of interesting plants and sights. 

homage to the original playground furniture, crown flower, 

By the time we got close to the end of the walk, the rain was gone!
After an afternoon rest we travelled down to Saturdays to have a farewell dinner for Michael with Peter, the Smiths and June, before making our way back to the Smiths for a tipple, or 2, of whiskey before bed.

June found another car for her list, boys will be boys!

After a quiet morning on Tuesday getting suitcases organised, Michael decided he'd like to visit Marche for lunch so we headed into Vivo city we we discovered they were celebrating their 10th birthday. I do remember visiting the area in 2005 and there certainly was not the shopping centre there is today.

Maria had invited us over for afternoon tea before Michael's departure, and this turned into a very tasty (as usual) dinner. 

At work on Wednesday I was treated to a delicious late-birthday cake, as we were all in different parts of the world on the actual day. As you can see there was a slight spelling error in my name and I now have a new nickname...a cross between 'mother'and 'Heather'!

Helen has some relatives visiting in a couple of weeks and I had been telling her about the National Gallery which she was yet to visit, so on Friday we met up in town so I could point her in the right direction. She was quite impressed and it was great to see so many different age groups enjoying the space. The Hawker Stall was part of the Common Grounds interactive program. Many people had written their memories of Hawkers stalls on food shaped notes and strung them around the stall.

We made our way up to the roof to take in the spectacular views of Marina Bay and were very grateful that we didn't have to do either of the jobs shown below!

We made our way to the recently opened Capitol Mall, comprising a number of beautifully restored buildings from the 1930s.
The Neoclassical Capitol Building was completed in 1933, four years after the Capitol Theatre. The adjoining theatre dominated the Singapore movie scene for decades after it opened as the premier cinema in the country.
With its striking façade and portico facing the road junction, the building became the backdrop to one of Singapore’s most recognisable street corners. Its giant billboards emblazoned with posters of the latest movies screening at Capitol Theatre attracted the attention of pedestrians and motorists alike and became as much of a beloved landmark itself.
Today, the Capitol Theatre has become a venue for dance and theatrical productions, film screenings and red carpet movie premieres, with its original architectural details kept intact. It boasts an Art Deco entrance, a curved cantilevered canopy, a vaulted roof embellished with the 12 zodiac signs, as well as sculptures of winged horses and their riders flanking the stage.

In the area outside, near the fountain there was a 'Snapshots of Heritage' photography exhibition. It was of interest because quite a few of the photos were of places we have visited on our Monday walks and some of places we have held social functions.

First week back

After a very busy and enjoyable 3 weeks touring around Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland and England we arrived back in Singapore on Tuesday night. I am so far behind with my blog and I have posted a number of photos on Facebook so I am not going to include the holidays at this point. Suffice to say it was a great mixture of friends, family, touring in a group and some "time for just the 2 of us. We needed to return to Singapore to have a rest!
Fortunately Wednesday was a public holiday for the end of Ramadan so I had an extra day up my sleeve to rest. On Wednesday night we caught up with holiday stories from Libby, Eric, Helen and Peter at Sque Bar. 
On Thursday morning we ventured out on the Rail Trail with June and Peter, so Michael could get his usual Thunder Tea Rice fix at the Rail Mall.
Before the holidays Kathy and Helen had given us a lunch invitation to celebrate my birthday so we met up at Roosevelts at Outram Park. Their new menu had some unusual offerings including the squid ink waffle, with salmon, that Michael ordered...oddly it was topped off with maple syrup. Kathy and Helen thought that the year year on the convertible number plate was very auspicious!

As Robert, Maria and Elizabeth had  been in Borobodur for the long weekend our first chance to catch up with them was over dinner at Wild oats after work on Saturday night. 
The working week ended with 'back to work' drinks at Wine Connections in Cuppage, a new venue for most of us. 
By the end of Sunday night holiday seemed like a distant memory and we were back in to the routine of Singapore life.

Last week-Term 2

Despite it appearing initially that Punggol was finally going to have a full house at a social function, this did not eventuate. After work on Sunday night, end of term drinks were held at Little Saigon, beside the river at Clarke Quay. Numbers were down a bit with quite a few staff suffering from the flu and trying very hard to get better before our holiday begins next week. It was an enjoyable night and very pleasant sitting by the river.
As our final walk for the term was a night walk I spent the afternoon at Gardens by the Bay with Robert and Maria, visiting the Flower Dome. It has been a while since I was last here but it is amazing to see so many new installations...and that was before i got inside the dome!

An old favourite and some new ones.

The current display is the first-ever retro-styled floral display - Lilytopia! There were lots of rock and roll songs from the era of psychedelic music and Flower Power. There were more than 50 varieties of lilies alongside pop icons like the hippie van and guitar.

Our evening walk started at Little India. As Eric was unwell, June and I were tasked with leading the way. We explored some of the back streets on both sides of Serangoon Road before eating at the restaurant June and I had tested on Saturday night.

A cooling drink before setting out to see the variety of sights in Little India

Robert has been here so long they have named a lane after him!