24 July 2019 – Sunday Family Dinner

Sat: forgot about the NDP rehearsals around the Padang area and bus196 to Clement@Bukit Merah which would normally take about 45mins took 1+hr! Had a headache after the ride thru’ Geylang, Kallang, N Bridge Rd, etc before rejoining the normal route. Maps downloaded.

Last portion of gravlaks for this season before closing down the 4-walls with a very heavy heart. Appreciations to Les&Ivy for noddle-dinner.

Been a long while since last@Alliance Française de Singapour – an evening with a dark comic play by Martin McDonagh set on Inishmaan, one of the Aran Islands off the Galway coast – The Cripple of Inishmaan directed by Ciarán Mullally. Felt like I was back in Ireland trying to understand the strong country-accent, used to love the Aran-knits sweaters.

Brought back fond memories of the holiday country-driving in that area. Les was telling us how he and our cousin Lock nearly drowned swimming off one of the Islands there.

Great play from the same Irish guy that gave us the Oscar winner Three billboards outside Ebbing Missouri. What a talent – loved both of them – Paul Connolly 

Sun: not a good night sleep last night, the mind is having difficulties focusing. Les&Ivy made my day with a bottle of Dom which complimented a scrumptious fresh shellfish family dinner of mussels (made with KerryGold butter+champagne) and GongGong/L canarium. Malay common names siput GongGong=snail, and GongGong is an onomatopoetic word for a dog’s bark or how, thus DogConch – both prepared to perfection by bro Les.

To top it all, durians for dessert!

Remember gentlemen, it’s not just France we are fighting for, it’s Champagne! – Winston Churchill

Mon: a day to chill out catching up with news and sad to see what is happening in HKG. To all my family&friends there, plx be safe.

https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3019524/least-10-injured-baton-wielding-mob-suspected-triad

Tue: Happy Birthdays #5 who turns 8 and is somewhere up in the mountains in Norway with his immediate&Norwegian family. Looks like he will soon get his permanent 2front teeth, so better share that big bar of Freia chocolate with his siblings. Pix credits to Linn. While Linn&fam are in Norway, May&fam are in France catching up with Dike&Mark who are celebrating their 20Anniversary there. Glad that they all managed to meet up even across the oceans.

And to grand-nephew Lucas who turns 12. Too tired to attend the family dinner after a morning movie and running around town for the afternoon.

The Professor and the Mad Man – is a true tale of madness, genius, and obsession about 2men who created history with the writing of the Oxford English Dictionary. The compilation of the Oxford English Dictionary began in 1857 and was one of the most ambitious, and revolutionary projects ever undertaken. Prof Murray took on the challenge of creating the most comprehensive dictionary ever compiled, but knew that it would take him and his team over a century to compile all known definitions.

However, by “crowd sourcing” the work, that is, by enlisting definitions from people all over the world, the dictionary could be compiled in mere decades. As definitions were collected, the overseeing committee, led by Prof Murray, discovered that one man, Dr Minor, had submitted more than 10,000words. When the committee insisted on honoring him, a shocking truth came to light: Dr. Minor, an American Civil War veteran, was a convicted murderer and being held at an asylum for the criminally insane.

No great mind has ever existed without a touch of madness ― Aristotle

Reveiw&pix downloaded.