Parent Teacher Meetings Week 1

After work on Sunday the usual diehards; Libby, Eric, Peter and myself, met up for drinks at Joe's. It was not a late night as I knew I had a big week ahead with lots of Great Race research as well as Parent Teacher Meetings beginning on Wednesday. 
It was a relatively easy walk on Monday from Labrador to Vivo City and as I was continuing with Great Race research after the walk I didn't bother to take my binoculars, so we were very lucky the little purple throated sunbird landed on a branch very close to us.

After another day of GR research on Tuesday I joined Robert, Maria and Elizabeth at Chomp Chomp Food Centre, also known as Serangoon Gardens Food Centre. It is a well known food court in Singapore. This food court is famous for offering a myriad of mouth watering local dishes such as Hokkien mee, satay, carrot cake, bbq chicken wings, grilled stingray, popiah, fried oyster, and prawn mee. Elizabeth was in need of a last taste of Singaporean Hawkers food before she flew out to Hong Kong on Wednesday morning. She is off to start a new job, just as soon as her visa comes through.

Wednesday and Thursday were taken up with a CT scan (following up from last years colonoscopy) and more Great race research/meetings.

The week ended on a positive note with a very positive appraisal from my Annex Head as well as a number of positive feedback comments from parents. For the first time, we were asked to give the parents a feedback form during PTMs. All our responses have been positive and it is very rewarding to be appreciated by name in what was meant to be a general response.  

Neil and Lorraine

Shortly after arriving at work on Sunday, some old friends turned up to collect the key to Rio Vista, as they were having a few days with me on their return journey to Australia. They had been visiting grandchildren in the UK for 4 weeks so spent Sunday resting until I finished work. We ventured down to Punggol Park for dinner as it is so convenient.
Neil and Lorraine decided they would like to join our walking group on Monday morning. Unfortunately for them it was one of our longest walks, and very hot but they coped remarkably well.

After returning home they 'discovered 'our pool so we spent a bit of time cooling off before getting ready for a night out. 
Lorraine and Neil are in a wine club back home and some of the other members had talked about the wine fairy in Singapore so she was on their wish list. After dinner at Blue Jazz, where we were joined by Bev, Libby and Eric, we strolled over to Divine Wine Bar to watch the wine fairy at work.

We spent Tuesday morning exploring Gardens by the Bay, where I was able to fine tune some Great Race questions, while Lorraine and Neil admired the area. In the cloud dome we were impressed with the lego display!

After Neil and Lorraine departed for the airport I dashed over to Robert and Maria's to farewell Elizabeth off on the next phase of her life journey. We were joined by Craig and Melisa a very pleasant young couple who work with Robert and Maria at the Kovan branch of MAE.

After a staff development day at Bishan on Thursday we had Friday off for May Day. Now that I have my own binoculars I was allowed to go back again. Libby, Eric and I managed to see quite a few interesting birds including the very beautiful copper throated sunbird. Searches are made much easier when you see a number of photographers, with long lenses, all pointing in the same direction. We probably would have overlooked the sunbird without this 'pointer'. It seems I am destined not to see a hornbill in Singapore as Libby and Eric sighted one flying overhead as I was answering my phone!

scarlet backed flowerpecker, lineated barbet, pied oriental hornbill, copper-throated sunbird

After returning home for a short rest I joined Libby, Eric and Peter at a new watering hole, called Saturdays. It is conveniently located not too far from their back gate, and even better there is a bus stop at the door at which I can catch a bus almost to home. It could become an occasional alternative for Sunday drinks.

More of the Same!

With Peter away and others otherwise occupied, it was just me and the Smiths for dinner at Wild Oats on Sunday night. I love the proximity to home and the setting by the lake is superb but unfortunately the food does not always meet expectations. Added to they will not give you a glass of water so we always say we wont go back again but I find myself still going there occasionally. 
Monday's walk from Kent Ridge to Vivo City is always a pleasant, if hot, stroll with a great variety of scenery. I did finish the walk although I felt a bit shaky at one point and chose to take the easy option at the end by giving stairs a miss in favour of a gentle slope. 


There was a MAE social outing to Pulau Ubin on Tuesday which involved a 10 min ferry trip from Changi. Pulau Ubin is a small island (10.19 km²) situated in the north east of Singapore. Granite quarrying supported a few thousand settlers on Pulau Ubin in the 1960s, but only about a hundred villagers live there today. It is one of the last rural areas to be found in Singapore, with an abundance of natural flora and fauna. The island forms part of the Ubin–Khatib Important Bird Area (IBA), identified as such by BirdLife International because it supports significant numbers of visiting and resident birds, some of which are threatened.It was pleasant to be near the water although it was a very hot day. Most of the small group chose to hire bikes but Robert and I decided we would take a walk. We meandered in a different direction to the way I had been 2 years ago and managed to see some old favourites like the magpie robin, with its beautiful song  and another new one for me the white rumped shama, which also has a melodious song. Some of the others saw the Hornbills but not me! 
Everyone returned their bikes in one piece (bikes and bodies) before returning to Changi for lunch at the Changi Village Hawkers.

Asian glossy starling, white rumped shama, magpie robin, olive backed sunbird

Peter returned from his trip to Australia in the evening so I met up with him and Libby and Eric at Plonk for their cheap Tuesday Pizza deal. As it turned out the food was cheap, but not so our drinks!
This week's  Great Race Quiz results flowed in on Wednesday night with only one slightly premature response arriving on Sunday night, but being week one we let the team resend on Wednesday. It was a pretty simple quiz, especially if you used the internet, so the majority of teams had 100%.After A Great Race meeting with the other team members on Thursday all seems to be on track. 
On Friday morning Libby and I went for a walk in the Botanic Gardens to give the binoculars a spin. I am very happy with them as you see so much more than with the naked eye. Disappointingly there was not a lot of bird life about but it is a pleasant place for a stroll anyway.

Luckily Friday had been such a pleasant day because I had a lousy day on Saturday. It began with sitting at the bus stop for 30 minutes waiting for my bus meaning I didn't arrive at work until.8.30. This was compounded by the information that a colleague was going to be away all weekend so my Sunday downtime was gone again. All in all I was out of sorts all day, but managed to cheer up enough to share a meal with the Smiths at their local hawkers at the end of the day. The sight of Libby with a couple of bottles of apple cider dispelled my bad mood for the day!

Sri Lankan Dinner

Sunday night saw just 4 of us eating an Grapevine before an early night. This weeks walk was great for me as it was only a 15 trip to get to the starting point to walk through the last remaining Kampong in Singapore. I had a discussion one day with a neighbour about her growing up in a Kampong near Changi. She expressed sadness that there were none left and was very surprised when I said I had visited one very close to home...I'm not sure that she even believed me!

We finished our walk at my local hawkers for lunch, after a circuit of Punggol Park. I was able to put my binoculars to good use and even identified the Pygmy Woodpecker by myself.

After a morning of Great Race investigations, which have to remain secret for now, I spent the afternoon preparing for a Sri Lankan dinner at Rio Vista. With contributions from Libby, Eric, Maria and Helen we had a delicious meal. It was also Nepalese New Year so Peter decided we need a photo of the Trekkers for Cule, which turned out to be one of the more sensible photos of the evening.

The number of empty bottles in our kitchen the next morning could have accounted for the slowness experienced by many of us the next morning.

A number of us had been lucky enough to see a family of Spotted Wood Owls some time back but Helen had missed out, so on Thursday a few of us headed off to Eco Green and Pasir Ris Park to see if they were still in residence. While we were out of luck on that score we did see the baya weaver birds at work on their amazing nests and a coppersmith barbet feeding its young. The binoculars have earned their money already!

Blue throated bee eater, coppersmith barbet, baya weaver bird

We have also discover that the single tree remaining across the river from us, is a resting place for quite a variety of birds. I was able to identify a small flock of blue throated bee eaters which make regular visits.

I spent Friday afternoon at the Smiths working with Libby on the P3 Community lessons as many of us agreed that the unit needed a revamp. We had a successful afternoon and are both happy with the unit we can hand on to Renee.

We were all surprised to learn that the directors of MAE have granted us a holiday on August 7th in honour of LKY and we also have Sunday August 9th off for the SG50 NAtional Day. I'm expecting that Renee will be inundated with requests for LSL for Saturday 8th August. 
On Friday night the first of the Great Race quizzes was sent out. This one was anagrams of celebrities celebrating their 50th birthdays in 2015...an easy one to get the teams talking!

 

Binocular Time

Sunday night saw Kovan, Punggol, Bishan and AngMo KIo colleagues meeting up for a meal (well for most of us) at Bliss in AngMo Kio. It is quite a pleasant setting with reasonably priced meals but unfortunately the staff were a bit overwhelmed by the large group and 2 of our party went home hungry!

Monday morning we had an early start as this weeks walk was one I had been looking forward to for a while even though it is quite a distance away, invovling 3 train lines and a bus.

Sungei Buloh is a wetlands area in the northwest corner of the island, which has an abundance of bird and animal life. We were quite a large group but we still managed to see some interesting birds and even a crocodile lurking in the swamp.

Common Flameback Woodpecker, scarlet sunbird, tailorbird and collared kingfisher.

After a day of very frustrating blogging I met up with Libby and Eric for dinner at Punggol Point, an area we had been talking about visiting for some time.

In 1942, 400 Chinese civilians were massacred here as part of the Sook Ching Massacre. The place has been declared as a national heritage site. There is a plaque commemorating this incident.The Sook Ching, meaning "purge through cleansing") was a systematic extermination of perceived hostile elements among the Chinese in Singapore by the Japanese Military during the Japanese occupation of Singapore and Malaya, after the British colony surrendered on 15 February 1942.

The area has undergone extensive redevelopment, and reopened as Punggol Point Park on 20 November 2011.Although it is only accessible by bus or taxi there are a large number of seafood restaurants and it was very pleasant sitting on the verandah enjoying the sea breeze. The view over the Johor Straits improved after dark when the port facilities were lit up.

We finished up back home with a nightcap so Eric could have one small taste of Michael's Yamazaki whisky.

On Thursday Great Race plans got underway with Kris, June, Amy and I meeting at Kovan to decide on a theme etc. As it is such a big year for Singapore, celebrating its 50th Birthday, we decided on a birthday theme so it is time for the partying (and preparation to begin.

After visiting Sungei Buloh on Monday I was keen to revisit in a smaller group, but i was informed that I couldn't go until I had my own binoculars! So Friday saw Libby and I head off to a shop they had used before in Holland Village, to make a purchase. The binoculars Libby and Eric use were no longer available there but they did have some excellent German Steiners. I couldn't decide so we travelled in to Little India where I finally bought a pair of Vortex which I am very happy with. Libby subsequently went back and bought the Steiners.

Lee Kwan Yew

When we returned to Singapore we found a city full of sad faces at the loss of their founding father, Lee Kuan Yew (LKY). He lay in state while thousands of people queued for ours for a thirty second viewing. The partner of one Punggol colleague joined the queue to pay her respects. One child told his teacher that on Sunday he "had to wear black and cry!" Our office staff watched the state funeral on their computers, becoming quite tearful at times. Across the country there is a series of sirens to warn of impending disasters. They were used to start, and end, a minutes silence to honour LKY which we did in our classes.
After such a sombre day a number of us travelled to Holland Village to catch up after our break and hear various travel stories. 
The next morning we were minus our usual walk leaders so Libby and I did the honours from Bishan to Ang Mo KIo and didn't get lost even once.

Tuesday afternoon saw a large group of us travelling in to Somerset to see the 2nd Best Marigold Hotel which was very easy viewing and provided us with a few laughs. We then moved on to SQUE Bar  and met up with the remaining social committee for dinner.

I woke on Wednesday to a cryptic message from Michael regarding scans and blood tests etc! It turns out that perhaps 4 international flights in 2 weeks is not great for your health, especially if part of the 2 weeks is spent as a passenger in a very small car for long periods of time! He has a 20cm blood clot in the calf muscle of his left leg. He has now joined the brigade of elderly people on medication!

As Michael had also accidentally taken the dongle I need to carry out my internet banking I was grateful that Emily and Josh were coming to Singapore for their honeymoon, after their original plans to go to Vanuatu were blown away! On Thursday they came out to the Heartlands for lunch and an inspection of Rio Vista...comments were 'it's like living in a resort!'

Good Friday dawned with the delightful prospect of no work so we had a girl's BBQ (plus Peter for a while). After a few drinks we decided to go for a walk along the Park Connector but only got as far as the Showhome at WaterBay, the condo being built next door. The poor girl who got lumbered with the slightly tipsy, in no position to buy, group of women, was very gracious and patient.

Sri Lanka Part 3....and back to work

After arriving in Galle, Nandana dropped us off at the old fort so we could have a wander around the fortifications. It was extremely hot so we didn't object to meeting up with him at the lighthouse half an hour later.

Nandana handed us over to Dillip, who took us for a short tour around the centre in his tuktuk before heading to his place to meet the family and see all the improvements he had made to their home. He had been working very hard over the past couple of weeks on getting the electricity in to the living room and finishing off the bathroom so we could report back to Miss Libby, Mr Eric and Mr Peter!

The kids had a great time inspecting their gifts with the Chandon sunnies being a big hit.

Nandana had arranged a late afternoon jaunt on the river to see some wildlife with a young man he has taken under his wing. We did see quite a few birds most of which we had seen in Yala but it was a first sighting of the Indian Paradise Flycatcher.

By the time we returned it was dark and time for dinner at Dillip's home. They had prepared so much delicious food for us but, embarrassingly, they did not eat with us. It was not a late night as the next morning we had to be on the road by 7.00 for the drive to Colombo for our flight to Singapore.

Dillip, Hurani and Pranap, quite a feast, Nandana, his wife and 3rd son.

After an uneventful return to Singapore that was in mourning for Mr Lee Kwon Yew, Michael only had one day to fill in before returning to Australia so he could attending a wedding on Saturday. Duncan and Bianca also attended looking very smart.

By Friday Michael had secured a job with the Catholic Education office, beginning after the school holiday break on April 20th. He will have the same role as technical support officer that he was doing before coming to Singapore.

Meanwhile I resumed my Friday walking, meeting up with Jo, June and Peter at Buona Vista to walk along the Rail Trail with the intention of seeing the original Train Station Terminus...unfortunately after walking for an hour and half we found our way blocked by a large fence!