8 Sep 2026 – Unhealthy PSI-Readings

Sat: air quality in the central region reached unhealthy levels yesterday, with the 24-hour PSI exceeding 100, according to data from the NEA. https://www.haze.gov.sg/ Hotspots from satellite data, staying within my AC – pix downloaded.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/haze-singapore-central-unhealthy-psi-6338721?

Happy 15Bday to #6-Olai/youngest grandchild. Exactly 15yrs ago today was at Ullevål universitetssykehus,Oslo/Norway for his birth – had time to check out the museum then but not sure if it is still there today? https://amylamsg.com/2011/09/09/karma/

Sun: a rare sunset for me! captured on the way to last night’s dinner – it displayed such breathtaking colors, and was fortunate to have taken it as it was descending very quickly…

Appreciations with tkx to bro Leslie’s yummy home-cooked SundayDinner, he makes the best BlackPepper, CrabGuinness, PigTrotter, Soya Chicken, Steak-a-la-Rochalie for my taste. Good to see Kai enjoying his bubbles with his godmother, niece Patricia – hope that he will enjoy these newer finger-puppets as much as my children&grandchildren! Used to have some older ones on my fingers and depending on which puppet will sing songs relating to them – but of course they are all now too grown for that and time to pass these newer ones on. It is such a pleasure to observe children engaging in simple playtime activities without the use of screens!

Mon: SIN-Red-Cross said on that it is stepping up its response to heat&haze by providing air purifiers, support packs&electricity bill assistance to vulnerable seniors& at-risk groups, while its raining cats&dogs in OSL/Norway – pix downloaded. Laundry-day and getting ready for 2ndBorn/May to arr here to work tomorrow – looking forward to having her here and for a late belated Bday celebrations.

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/singapore-red-cross-heat-haze-response-support-packs-6366371

Tue: grocery shopping was completed before 8:00hrs on tranquil roads during this school holiday week. BeefTendon+SlicedBeef&BeanSprouts SoupDinner at OdeonBeefNoodlesS$12 FoodRepublic/Basement,Jewel  – one of my favourite soups.

Ice cream – one of my favourite ice-creams/ToykoMilkCheeseFactoryS$5.50 for dessert and having 30mins to spare to get to the airport/T1 to meet May as planned.

4 Sep 2026 – Happy 49thBday May

Tue: hello Sep – productive day with grocery-shopping@24hr-Gaint/MTS$32.79 and fresh-produce@MT-wet-marketS$14+ running errands@PP. CocoaNibs@ScoopS$3.86, basket for the Banana-plant@DiasoS$9.60, delighted to find the Black-Squid-Ink pasteS$10@Fairprice. Like doing grocery in the early hours to avoid crowds&heat. Consider myself blessed to still be capable of doing my own grocery shopping and partaking in other activities that help me maintain a healthier and more active lifestyle.

Appreciations with many tkx to cousin KarenL for taking time to catch up with these old B/W pix from the family bank&house from Sarawak/Malaysia(1930s-1970s) – going to be a busy month to sort out&update blog postings – pix credits to her.

Also tkx for some spare-parts for the old Singer-sewing-machine+for her yummy homemade scones, perfect company with the afternoon-tea/

ThankU for introducing this Steamed-Fish-StallS$10@KopitiamS$Basement/PP and glad that she liked her first taste of Tauhu-PokS$6, alternative to the Rojak or Popiah.

Wed: crossing StillRd and looking forward to the library to be opened and for the underpass there to be completed. First day volunterring  SSPV@Katong,MP-MRT-Exit5 – trying to colour-code the clothes at the BargainSection knowing that it will not last, but at least trying to do something constructive. Like that the ceiling is in different colours, easier to explain when giving directions.

As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands — one for helping yourself, the other for helping others — Audrey Hepburn

Nice catching with Clement for lunch and some shopping@JapanHome/PP which will be closing and selling things at discounted prices – Lysol,shampoo,soaps, all items on my list and if I had my shopping-push-cart would have bought more of these itemsS$13.50. https://www.straitstimes.com/business/japan-home-closing-outlets-staff-say-valu-taking-over-operations

Thu: took ~1week~100+screws,etc to complete setting up this sewing cabinet,

despite of the time taken, pleased that I can still managed to install something like this with my bare hands!

Fri: Happy 48th-Bday to my 2nd-Born-May, the baby.

31 Aug 2026 – Home Is Where The Heart Is

Fri: hvil i fred kjære KongHaraldV(1937-2026), takk for alt han har betydd for Norge, han vil bli dypt savnet. Kondolerer til den norske kongefamilien – pix downloaded. https://sg.news.yahoo.com/norways-king-harald-dies-aged-064137382.html

Sat: following the cortege(the first 16+mins is just waiting for the coffin to be loaded) carrying Norway’s late KingHaraldV from Rikshopitaket/OsloUniversititshospital following his death. Crowds gathered along the wet rainy route to witness the solemn procession and pay their respects as the monarch’s coffin was transported toward the RoyalPalace amid a period of national mourning. When the cortege turned onto Sognsvien passing UllevaalStadion,KiwiTrikkesiøyfa,UllevaalSykehus–Kirkivieien towards Majorstua,turning@McD-Bogstadveien – countless times on this section by car,foot or public transport! Pix downloaded. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKl9PnAY8EE

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/all-the-details-on-king-harald-of-norway-s-funeral/ar-AA2b6z06

Skinnerbu 1968: memories of KingOlav’s reluctance to allow his son to marry a commoner in 1968 when working a summer job chambermaiding+bartending at Skinnerbu Høyfjellshotell,Rjukan/Norway then, now Skinnerbu Nasjonalparkhotell. KingHaraldV ascended the throne in 1991 and by that time, had relocated to the US – pix downloaded.

2024 Oslo/Norway – brilliant reverse-psychology tourism campaign ever – Halfdan is a teacher at #6-Olai’s school who became a legend after this ad – pix downloaded. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vhD59ac7nw

Uncertain how to interpret this – was recently at the wake of JimmyLIM. Condolences to the families of HweeLingLIM(pix from 2016StPatrick’sDay) and CheaMingDIONG – Jimmy,HL & CM were members of the IrishGrads/IGAS. Do not have the energy to deal with weekend crowds on public transport to attend another wake. May they RIP – this marks the fifth death within the last 7days including DollyParton.

Time is a great teacher, but unfortunately it kills all its pupils – Hector Berlioz

Sun: FB-Memories reminds me that 11yrs ago on this day(according to the LunarCalender) was 11th auntie Diana’s 90Bday, so that makes her 101 today Happy Bday to her –  the eldest surviving relative from my father’s generation/BlueGen.

Was not aware of https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/thousands-thrilled-by-mercedes-f1-car-demos-along-orchard-road So this was what the bus diversion was about –  thank goodness they were clearing up by the time I got to Paragon.

Appreciations with thanks to Theresa&CJ for Sunday dinner at my favourite PekingDuck restaurant at ImperialTreasureSuperPekingDuck/Paragon,OrchardRd for some of the most scrumptious PekingDuck, Yam&Scallop, CrabCake,

Abalone+Broccolo+FishMaw,DuckGlassNoodles,MangoPomeloSagoPudding.

Mon: cool&wet yesterday&today early mornings with a beautiful moon last night. Following such a delightful dinner last night, will not require any food for the next few days!

27 Aug 2026 – RIP Dolly Parton

Mon: the haze loomed as the PollutantStandardsIndex/PSI ~98 in the central region inched ever closer to unhealthy levels – no plans of being anywhere near the central today or this week. For weeks, Sumatra&Kalimantan have been ablaze with forest&land fires fuelled by a super El-Nino in addition to also being the HungryGhostMonth鬼月(13Aug-10Sep)with all the ritual-burnings – pix downloaded. https://amylamsg.com/2011/08/22/if-religion-is-a-thing/

Who can affordS$8-13k monthly? All-day dining,hydrotherapy-pool,hair-salon,bus@SIN-first-private-assisted-living project. Prayers&hopes to not see the day to be in a situation when unable to take care of myself – working hard to keep body&mind as healthy and for as long as possible at this stage – pix downloaded

GiantGrocery/MTS$56.10 includingS$2.80Sen+PromoSave. Enjoying the fauna&flora under shaded walk on MP-Rd between TelokKurau&Still-Rds-Jcts. Do not remember going on any field-trips when in Pri-School here but fun memories chaperoring my own kids@their Elementary-School-Fieldtrips in the US.

Crossing StillRd to continue underground@MP-MRT-Exit6 to discover this thrift-shop and decided to vounteer one day a week there for a good cause, being a strong believer for recycling and not for religious intentions or thoughts despite that the profits are donated to The Society of St Vincent de Paul/SSVP.

MrCoconut treat when walking underground here and up above ground@MP-MRT-Exit3 continuing on shaded walkway on JooChiatRd.

GV@I12 to watch We Are All Strangers 我们不是陌生人 and taking time with a mini-rice-bowl late lunch@Guzman Y Gomez to reflect on the movie while enjoying my fast TexMex-Foodfix. The other SE-Asian movie watched this month, DearYou 給阿嬤的情書 and what I liked about both is no action,sex,violent scenes, both letting me know that basic human decency is not dead…

If you can’t be kind, at least have the decency to be vague. Morals are private. Decency is public — RM-Brown

Thu: delivery from SpotlightS$507.23 with savings of S$215discounts&sales items.

Welcome to this new artificial BananaPlant+2 stalks of Bird of Paradise neither fading nor decaying to replace the 20+yrs old dried-twigs+dried-eucalyptus-leaves. Have given up~20yrs ago having anything alive within my 4walls besides myself, hahaha! Finally the electric-sewing machine has a cover to keep the dust away. Will require a few days to set-up this new sewing cabinet, and subsequently, additional time will be needed to sew the sheer curtains.

Artificial intelligence has the same relation to intelligence as artificial flowers have to flowers. — David Parnas

23 Aug 2026 – Spotlight

Thu: appreciations for today’s treat from CareFridge. No TorchGingerFlowerBud(Etlingera elatior)BungaKantan in the MT-local-market. Bus13 to GeylangSeraiMarket and found it there – for me this really enchances my salad and Rojak but should only be taken in its bud-stage. Tkx to Gel for dinner(home-made BourbonHoneySalmon+salad) company and for all the goodies.

Fri: TGIF and a fabulous weekend to all – the first week of school gone by smoothly for USA-flock with Linn/SC & #1/GA as educators, #2/ClemsonU,SC

 #3 in UofSC/SC, #4&5 in IrmoHighSchool/SC – pix credits to Linn

Condolences to Sheila&family for the loss of their husband,father,fil,grandfather, to Jo for her bro and to Jen for her cousin, Jimmy – may he RIP. Both Jo&Jen were my classmates in Alex,Dublin/Ireland 1960s – another lifetime ago! Bus15 changing to Bus58@PasirRisInterchange but walked the wrong direction@TampinesLink and was too hot&lost to walk back ending up taking a GrabS$8 from somwhere@Tampines to be drivened to SIN-FuneralParlour – took 2+hrs to eventually get there.

Since IKEA was 2bus-stops away, bravely ventured there to pick up some curtainsS$5.90 and found 2small bowlsS$4.90 – good to use up points worthS$5 that were going to be expired and was not even aware of that. Pleasantly surprised and pleased to be dinning on delicious gravlaks,kreps+eplesaft for Fri-DinnerS$13.90. Bus168 changing@BedokInterchange to Bus196 back~1hr, has been a long time since on a go for ~7hrs but good to be exhasuted, not out of breath and had a goodnight sleep.

Sat: amazed myself to be@Spotlight/PlazaSIN by 10.00hrs on a Sat! to do some shopping that has been on the list over the years, now taking advantage of their weekend discounts resulting from renovations@PlazaSIN. Met the cutest 3-4yr-old girl smiling at me when I was about to get off the bus, smiled back and gave her a little wave. She then whispered to her mother who told me that she liked my dress! Told her thankU and that she is very pretty in her pink-outfit with pink shades to match – she made my day and it would never cross my mind to touch her!

Spotlight delivery next week and looking forward to receiving and sewing some curtains. Since there, bought childhood-comfort-food to go@Kopitiam 鹹魚蒸肉餅CantoneseSteamedMincedPork w SaltedFish+西洋菜湯 WatercressPorkRibSoupS$12.10 with 10%SeniorDiscount.

Soup not only warms you and is easy to swallow and to digest, it also creates the illusion in the back of your mind that Mother is there – Marlene Dietrich

Getting back to the EastSide by 12.30hrs despite the heavy Sat traffic on JooChiatRd which would have usually taken 5+mins to walk from EC-DunmanRdJct but today Bus16 took ~15+mins and seems like the GPS gave up and started meditating – thank goodness for AC-Buses.

Hahaha! Let’s have a moment of silence for all those who are stuck in traffic on their way to the gym to ride stationary bicycles — Tommy Wood

Sun: taking an easy day after 2hectic days but not reading too much into what Surge of Energy is really about – hahaha! Appreciations for SundayDinner@Rochalie and safe trip and good luck to Kiera who heads back to DC/USA for her final year@GeorgeTownU.

Watched the NationalDayRallySpeech w the family and sounds promising for the future generation – impressed how SIN has managed and still managing to reclaime land by extending the smaller islands into more land, have still not ventured into JurongIsland! Will not survive to see LongIsland and just as well, could not imgine looking into those islands when walking on EC-Pk! Pix downloaded.

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/politics/ndr-2026-spore-to-merge-several-outer-islands-to-form-new-western-island

19 Aug 2026 – Biryani And Condiments 

16 Aug 2026 – #4Sophie’s Senior@HighSchoolYear

Thu&Fri: quiet times within my own 4walls most welcome for the body&mind to recover – appreciations to Gladys for her kindness&thoughfulness for the lovely orchids and to SIA for these individual OliveOil, perfect size for a single-use.

Physical symptoms like asthma+whatever other infections to the lungs which effects the breathing – then the domino effects and the vicious circle starts. Seems like as age catches up, the immnue system is not as it was and will catch whatever bugs going around, taking longer time to recover.  Still in the process of learning to manage both the physical&psychological aspects of reality, coming to terms with the fact that the days of carefree galavanting are behind me and need to be feel&learn how to be thankful to have lived life to the fullest then. Moving forward, the path ahead will represent a new&distinct chapter, thankful to have access to meds and other resources, eliminating the necessity for hospitalization each time experiencing shortness of breath!

IrmoHighSchool/USA for #4&5; seems like yesterday when #1-3 graduated from this same HighSchool and next summer #4 will also graduate from the same HighSchool. Who knows if this body&mind will be able to handle another long-distant-flight to be there?

#4-Sophie’s decorated SeniorYear car – pix credits to Linn.

Sat: this is getting too close for comfort – earthquake struck Ruteng,Manggarai, off the coast of FloresIsland ~68k/42m NW of Ende in EastNusa Tenggara province/Indonesia – pix downloaded. Prayers are out to all affected.

https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/strong-7-7-magnitude-quake-strikes-off-indonesia-usgs

Drowning out the disastrous events occurring in the world with music, some written expressions, and aimless screen time that leaves little memorable impact, yet is comforting enough to allow me to drift off within the cool confines of my AC-4 walls.

Sun: short morning stroll to the market for Orchids&BananaLeaf and to BengawanSolo for Kueys – advantages of living in HDB estates is the availability of super-market,wet-market,hawkers,decent F&B options; in addition to public transportation, all within 5mins shaded walk or underground. Appreciations to bro,sil,nieces,nephews,grandnieces for scrumptious spread@Rochalie before Kat,Devon&Eliot head back to USA, tkx to Adeline for this SteamEyeMask. Learnt that real Briyani is not served with gravy! Birinj Biryan برنج/Persian = fried rice, ie Briyani=PersianFriedRice. More details about this dish next posting.

Missed the SIN-grandnieces&nephews who are are preparing for their exams – Good Luck to all doing exams and speedy recovery to Clem/he was missed too, & Kai too who are both under the weather.

The eyes are the windows of the soul/Shakespeare. The soul, fortunately, has an interpreter — often an unconscious but still a faithful interpreter — in the eye/Brontë

12 Aug 2026 – An Amazing Trip

Sat: bus36 to T3/Basement and had sometime to spare for 20mins wait@MrCoconut, no would not normally stand in line for it but today the craving was there! SIA-BusinessCounter/Level3 to check in – seriously do not recall when last on an SIA-flight, not even to mention BusinessClass! Tkx to Shawn for arranging this and glad to see his family+helper arriving in time to get us into the BusinessLounge.

A stunning lounge offering an infinite selection of food&beverages to satisfy both your heart&appetite and this is only the start…

Complete seat to myself with comfort&space enjoying the sunset takeoff and dining on ShrimpCocktail,ChickenRice w Champagne+desset – omg if this is the way to heaven let me be in…

Furthermore, Kai was present, as adorable as ever, to maintain the joyful atmosphere on this ~1+hr flight.

Landed on schedule in PhuketInternational – Kai enjoys the robot cleaner, and he uses a cute sign language to explain how it needs to go away for charging. ~1+hr drive/~20k in the dark on curvy roads was the least favourite part of this trip. Les&family had a scrumptious spread ready at their villa@IndoChineResort&villas/PotongBeach but could not stomach more food. https://www.indochineresorts.com/

Edited – Sun: Happy 61st-National Day to SIN –  will get Kai more of these when his fingers are stronger to press the trigger, bringing back fun memories with the grandchildren are the Nerf&WaterGuns; grateful for those days when the energy&time were there then to run around chasing them – hahaha! https://amylamsg.com/2011/10/21/nerf-guns-battle/

Tusen takk #6-Olai/Oct2024 during one of his visits in SIN, then still at an age when it was OK to be seen in the company of his mormor – hahaha. Blessed&thankful for blogging helping the memory is stay in tact to remember these wonderful moments…

Ascending 55 steps to reach my room will either enhance my fitness or exhaust me; however at this stage of my life journey when there is a view and the pool on my patio, there is no need to venture elsewhere.

Pool,gym,public patio and restaurant, unfortunately these pix do them no justice as the lens had too much condensation from the overnight AC-room and did not realised it with the sun in my eyes.

Scrumptious Thai-Lunch@BaanRimPa by the sea with pleasant seabreeze, what a good idea to serve the CoconutJuice&IceCream inside the fresh young coconut. The drive towards OldTownPhuket was cut short by just grocery shopping and thank goodness as the roads again curvy and after too much good food was not feeling my best – after 55 stepsX4 up&down the staircases finally broke me! Tkx to Shawn for Nuberlizer meds – a short soak in my pool,showered&off to bed.

Mon: could not bear the sight or smell food and such a headache – stay-put in the room for a well-needed rest, no complains when there is a view! Relaxation is not a luxury; it’s necessary for our well-being. Downloaded 4above pix to show what it is really like while learning to adjust using a camera again – the younger gen are out with the elephants&shopping for the day.

Tue: took the buggy to the bottom of the hill and crossed the road but there was an eatery in front, so not possible to get near the water and believe me that was the closest near the sea on this trip! Made it up with 1hr oil massage,another soak+a snooze in the room. Massage is both an art and a therapy,offering relaxation,healing, and a moment of self-care.

Enjoyed the afternoon watching the family in their cooking class with their chefs.

The food tasted yummy – an early night for an early flight tomorrow. It is nice to observe that my brother is taking pleasure in his new chess-set and engaging in a game with his daughter&granddaughter.

Wed: bright&early, the last 55steps down the staircase make it a total of 10x55steps=550 up&down the steep stairs and still alive to catch another SIA-BusinessClass back to SIN. This time round asked to sit in front so as to concentrate on the road to discover that there are still rubber-plantations here and they are still tapping for the latax – have not see that since childhood days! Also to learn that our driver’s parents are from Ipoh&Penang/Malaysia and that he survived the 2004Tsunami but sadly not his wife. Still remember vividly on that day where I found my cousin sitting on the stairs in tears when we were in Laos.

Looks like a full plane and long lines for Aeroflot but thank goodness no line for SIA-BusinessClass, even managed to squeeze in 15mins massage at the PhuketAirport BusinessLounge/part of the service here despite having to take a bus to the plane.

SmokedSalmon,HokkienMee with Bellini+ChocolateCake dessert for lunch – can certainly easily get used to travelling like this – hahaha! And so ends this amazing memorable holiday tkx to broLes for the 5*accommodations+F&B; Shawn for arranging the tickets+meds; Gladys for her pix&thoughtfulness; Kai for his adorable company.

Had to rest for an entire day in between the 4days, was offered a room without steps but die die must try and now to recover from those 550steps! Really feeling that the energy or the appetite are not what they were – such is life and in future will take the room without stairs to climb. AnthonyHopkins said – Getting old ain’t for the faint of heart.

If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough – Meister Eckhart

7 Aug 2026 – Future

Tue: the present renovation of the playground below evokes memories of the time we had to lift #6-Grandchild to the MonkeyBars during his initial visit here. By his visit in 2025, he was able to swing independently from the first to the last bar. Hopefully they will install new MonkeyBars. Embracing change does not imply that you forget your history. Progressing does not mean you overlook the past. You are simply evolving…

Wed: tkx to FB for the memories from 2013/13yrs ago was hiking UKc2c; 2021/5yrs ago the passing of my beloved eldest broLawrence; 2023/3yrs ago hiking on the PEI/Canada. Memories encapsulate the core of our experiences and contribute to our identity. They serve as a reminder that our past constitutes a personal archive we bear throughout our lives, impacting both our present&future.

MarineParadeRd by MarineParadeMRT-Exit4 now and then in 2000 when I just moved into this area. Do miss the old trees…

now its underground in the AC for shade!

This is the only solitary old tree standing on this section of MP-Rd – sincerely hope that this magnificent tree will be permitted to remain for as long as possible in a location where the elderly strive to keep pace!

The reasonable man adapts himself to the world: the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man ― George Bernard Shaw

Earth’s temperature rise has shifted into overdrive, with the past decade warming faster than any other since modern records began. Recent news on natural disasters such as avalanches, floods, earthquakes, and heat-waves are unavoidable due to the impact of human activities on MotherNature; however, I find myself at a loss for words when it comes to the subject of man-made-wars. It is distressing to hear&read about it, not to mention viewing the images, so no downloading of any pix…

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/08/260801093239.htm

Because, underneath all of this is the real truth we have been avoiding: climate change isn’t an “issue” to add to the list of things to worry about, next to health care and taxes. It is a civilizational wake-up call. A powerful message—spoken in the language of fires, floods, droughts, and extinctions—telling us that we need an entirely new economic model and a new way of sharing this planet. Telling us that we need to evolve ― Naomi Klein

Thu: PrawnMeeLunch on EC-Rd and dessert@TimHorton/I12 – tkx May for this Nebulizier and to Shawn for the medications which were useful the past few days.

Where has all that time gone now with #4Sophie starting in her SeniorYear of HighSchool – seems like yesterday when we found this adorable toddler sleeping in the laundry-basket in the laundry-room!!

Fri: haircut and running errands@PP before taking off to Phuket/Thailand tomorrow. Glad to have an early start and not aware that it is a short-school-day today, was just about done with the crowds started. Will be offline away from the RedDot for her 61stBday this long weekend with Monday being a public holiday. Looking forward to catching up w nieces&grandnieces from NY/USA and to seeing NDP pix from all. NDP-2014 first&last one attended for me.

https://amylamsg.com/2014/08/10/ndp-2014/

Postings here to be edited&updated sometime next week…

3 Aug 2026 – The Crown

Sat&Sun: hello Aug – under the weather with a runny nose+slight temp, staying within the 4walls catching up with reading&screen-time after May’s visit. Seems like my immune system is on vacation without me! but this too shall pass, hopefully gone by the weekend before trip to PhuketHKT/Thailand. New rental neighbours moving in who informed me that his wife+baby-boy will arr sometime in Sep who are now still in China.

Feed a cold, starve a fever… or just feed me everything – Modern twist on old proverb

u

Tkx to Linn for this share from Facts They Don’t Teach You/FB – interesting read and for me everything is a balance in life including books&tablets, digital&handwritten, up to today still read books and hand write some notes as well as using the laptop&iphone for digital notes.

The world spent years pushing screens into classrooms. Tablets replaced textbooks. Digital assignments replaced handwritten notes. Schools were told that the future of education was sitting behind a screen. Now some European countries are starting to reverse course.

Denmark,Norway,Sweden(Scandinavia),Finland,France&Italy are all moving away from heavy classroom digitalization and bringing back something many schools thought was disappearing: printed books, handwriting, and traditional reading. And this shift is not happening because of nostalgia.

It is happening because researchers have found that writing by hand and reading physical books can improve memory, concentration, and understanding compared with relying only on digital devices. Sweden was one of the first countries to change direction. In 2023, its Ministry of Schools paused the push for mandatory tablet use and redirected hundreds of millions of kronor toward printed textbooks. Then other countries followed.

Denmark committed 540 million kroner to replace tablets with books, sending thousands of new printed copies into classrooms and moving toward a plan to make schools completely mobile-free by 2027.

Norway reports that most primary schools have removed mobile devices from learning spaces, while Finland introduced similar restrictions in 2024. And in Scandinavia, the change has been widespread.

France and Italy have already taken steps to limit smartphone use in primary and middle schools, bringing back paper planners and more traditional pencil-and-paper activities.

For years, the assumption was that more technology would automatically create better education. Now some of Europe’s most advanced educat ion systems are asking a different question: What if the best tool for learning was something students have used for centuries? A book. A pencil. And the ability to focus 

Mon: took more than a week and finally completed watching Netflix 6Seasons/60Episodes of The Crown released in Nov2016 with the last season Dec2023. Spanning ~6decades, beginning shortly before the wedding of PrincessElizabeth&PhilipMountbatten in 1947 and ending with the 2005 wedding of PrinceCharles&CamillaParkerBowles. Have always held admiration&respect for QE2; otherwise, would not be able to endure this historic drama. https://amylamsg.com/2022/09/10/queen-elizabeth-ii-1926-2022/

It has always been easy to hate and destroy. To build and to cherish is much more difficult – QE2

All pix in this posting downloaded.