25 Aug 2017 – Stay Healthy And Live Smart

Thu: to whoever who has passed on, RIP. The wake downstairs has been going on longer than normal. When the set-up was first noticed, a few days ago, thought it was a wedding judging from the table-clothes with glitters; on-going chanting got me to think otherwise. The lion-dance drumming got me to take these pix, wondering who the deceased was as this certainly is not the usual wakes I have witnessed!

Start right, stay healthy and live smart is SIN PM’s ND2017 Rally Speech. Strangely enough, have download this (Fri 28Jul STpix for KIV) and the other pix from lunch@The Peranakan, both befitting to his speech.

http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/pm-lees-national-day-rally-speech-all-you-need-to-know-in-3-minutes

Appreciations to Calvin&staff@CC for hosting this interesting talk and slide show by QX on the El Capitan via The Nose climb at Yosemite National Park. USA. Not one who will ever scale the mts, not my cup of tea, but just fascinated and enjoying to hear about Qing Xin&Kelly’s (the awesome mt scaling couple) adventures.

A photo sharing session and personal account of the climb on The Nose on El Capitan. Arguably the most famous big wall route in the world which took Warren Harding 47days to put up over months. 6 years after Kelly and I climbed it, we have a 3rd Singaporean ascent on El Capitan via The Nose.  

Lien is my superior back in the Commando days and well known to a duper fit guy. Every man who served under him, raced with him or climbed with him would know he is larger than life. After summiting K2 and Everest, he found himself a new challenge in the vertical world, big wall climbing. 

Since in the area, took a short tour of the Night Festival (10thAnniversary).

Must have been out of my mind to think that I could be here over the weekend. Bad enough with the crowds and heat on a Thu night, so forget even being near here over the last weekend of this fest! Viewing the rest on the screen 🙂

http://www.asiaone.com/multimedia/gallery/what-see-singapore-night-festival-2017

Took refuge into the Vanguard Building (with AC) – the former MPH building on Stamford Road, now a location where the walls and floor are for scribbling ideas.

Off the beaten path of the Night Festival to capture some memories of first Fri masses during schooldays in the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd and CHIJ Chapel.

Prayer is not asking. It is a longing of the soul. It is daily admission of one’s weakness. It is better in prayer to have a heart without words than words without a heart – Mahatma Gandhi.

Fri: TGIF and lots of prayers for today – a day to sort out things for the Norway trip.  Need to do some shopping (which is one of my least favourite things, thus procrastinating!). Packing (the other least favourite thing!!); am dreading all with a vengeance. Ughhh – thoughts of flying and airports (besides SIN airport) 🙁 Tomorrow is another day 🙂

The function of prayer is not to influence God, but rather to change the nature of the one who prays – Søren Kierkegaard.

23 Aug 2017 –  Typhoon Hato In HKG

Mon: welcome back to SIN Carmel; tkx to Ivy for lunch and to Carmel for goodies from Ireland and Ipoh. Good to be able to introduce one of my favourite Peranaka restaurants here in SIN to those who like Peranaka food.

Those who are lucky to be in the path of the total eclipse enjoy and make a wish for me.

Will be fast asleep, maybe can dream about it for 2mins 30secs here in SIN at 0243hrs when it passes over CAE at app 1443hrs EDT. Pix credits to Linn&friends.

Tue: needed the day to prepare contents&slides for the TEDxKeystoneAcademy 2017 presentation – Off The Beaten Path where the focus that AGE should not be an excuse and reason to not challenge oneself wisely from learning new things and living a full life.

Some of my own experiences with long distance hiking will be used.

Wed: first day of the school year for The FaBulous5 now in 10, 7, 5, 4, 1 Graders. Even #6 started first grade last week. This year all the MagniFicent6 are in school, no more pre or nursery kids.  Have to find other babies to cuddle as May has said that she is happy with just Olai! Pix credits to Linn.

Family&friends in HKG – plx take care and stay safe.

http://www.skynews.com.au/news/world/asiapacific/2017/08/23/typhoon-hato-approaches-hong-kong.html

Makerspace@XPC participating in a research agency in SIN that is fronting a project on housing concepts for retirees and seniors.

Another new hood for the first time – TaiSeng, an industrial estate occupied by Multinational Corporations. Lunched at the mall where there are more choices than expected.

The Arts House at The Old Parliament – Lee Fook Chee: Son of Singapore, Photographer of Hong Kong. (3Aug-3Sep) The 2015 launch of Lee Fook Chee’s Hong Kong. Dr Charles Yeung, founder of the GS Charity Foundation and book sponsor; to the left, Bernard Charnwut Chan, Foundation Patron; Helmuth Hennig, Foundation Chairman; and to the right, Edward Stokes, Foundation Founder and Publisher. Group pix credits to Ed.

 www.photo-heritage.com

www.edwardstokes.com

Light within Ink (18Aug-18Sep)- SIN photographer and art gallerist Chua SooBin presents more than 50 beautifully intimate portraits of late Chinese painter Wu Guanzhong shot between the mid-1980s to late 2000s.

https://amylamsg.com/2009/04/09/wu-guanzhong/

Being a fan of Wu Guanzhong, had planned to see this exhibition and read about Lee Fook Chee; thought it would be interesting as my maternal family is from HKG. Was talking to a nice gentleman who sat next to me on the bus last week. And as the turn of events, he is the Ed Stokes – small world!

Was thinking of popping into ACM, but as I got into the lobby, it was packed with a field-trip of noisy school-kids. Could not resist this beautiful batik set of 5-stones with a pouch at the museum-shop (S$10). Decided to skip the exhibits for this time round.

When time permits in this area, like to see what is new in the Fullerton Hotel. These fish are sleeping behind the pillar, a seldom time to be able to shoot a pix of them when they are still. A signage to not touch the fish is new!!

Their bakery displays have never disappointed me! Moon-cakes are out and the festival is not until mid-Oct! The set with 15flavours surrounding a big one with 6egg-yorks is a lovely gift idea. For myself, only like the original plain lotus without eggs which is too simple and ordinary to be sold here 🙂

Art for Autism

20 Aug 2017 – And Many Other Activities

Fri: TGIF and not a good start for the weekend where world news are concern. Thoughts and prayers to ppl affected at the Barcelona Terror Attack. A safe weekend to all and stay vigilant.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2017/aug/17/barcelona-attack-van-driven-into-crowd-in-las-ramblas-district

While re-arranging&tiding up the book shelf, Erich von Däniken’s Chariots of the Gods&Return of the Stars came to mind! 1968 UFreshman, idealist, naive, innocence, etc was intrigued with them. Bought and read the paper-bag publications then. 30yrs later, 1998 read them again, (not so idealist, etc), but still fascinated. Gel’s friends wanted to borrow them, but was unwilling to lend them out. Today (back to being idealist again without the chariots or stars!), but unable to locate them. Would like to read them again and wonder if the 1968 publications front covers were the same as the newer publications??

Tkx for good company – Bev, TingTing&CH. A lovely Fri evening at the Arab Street area in this colourful noisy ambiance, fun once in awhile!

Dinner@Box n Sticks****

Drinks@Blu Jaz – Bali Lane, this location is an interesting if you want a night out for live jazz. Glad that Rit’s flute has been recovered from the KL robbery, hope that it is in decent condition.

Congratulations to Bev’s RPstudents for their Sharella Project, such an excellent idea, especially with the recent downpours – hope that this can spread to more areas. Would leave some of my umbrellas if they had it in my hood.

http://m.todayonline.com/singapore/shared-umbrellas-student-initiative-full-dried-and-tested-ideas

10thAnniversarySINnightFestival 2017 –  starts tonight but too tired to go, some other time.

http://www.straitstimes.com/multimedia/photos/bright-lights-big-city-0?xtor=CS1-10

Sat: TiongBahru combines two words Tiong 终=to die (verb) in the Hokkien dialect, and the Malay word Bahru=new, hence new cemetery. TiongBahru estate and the grounds of the SGH and a great deal of the land along TiongBahruRd all the way to LengKeeRd, was once part of a Chinese cemetery.

Sat: an educational&interesting TiongBahruHeritageTrail by the ITE College West students and Siow Hong (nice surprise, last time we met was over a decade ago@OSSEAfunctions). YipYewChong (TiongPohRoad/Eu ChinStreetBlock 74), you are part of the heritage! Bird Corner and Monkey God Temple.

Market&FoodCentre, 55TiongBahruRd is the first public housing programmes of the SIN Improvement Trust (the colonial predecessor to the HDB), 82TiongPohRd – where 2ppl were injured in a recent fire.

EngWattStreet,  SengPohGarden, LimLiakSt&MohGuanTerrace

http://www.nhb.gov.sg/~/media/nhb/files/places/trails/tiong%20bahru/tiongbahru.pdf?la=en

Art & Painting Group: LowThoSeng@TanjongPagarCC to see Philip’s painting (pix credit to Philip for his painting pix).

The 900-year-old ‘Nidarosdomens Guttekor’ (Nidaros Cathedral Men&Boys Choir) from Norway will be performing in SIN for the first time in OCT – such angelic pure voices, thrilled to get a preview of them@NationalGallery.

http://scandasia.com/events/nidarosdomens-guttekor-esplanade/

Walking across the Padang to catch the bus, managed to capture these. Preparations for some marathon is in full and will certainly not set foot near here tomorrow! Need to rest for a week after these activities the past 2days. Does living like there is no tomorrow means that I do not want to miss out or does it mean that the end is near???

Sun: appreciations to Henry for good lunch company and tkx to Jo for dinner.

17 Aug 2017 – Horizons Of Change

Mon: appreciations to Aileen for her help with copies for the application to a Senior Pass – The National Parks&Federal Recreational Lands in USA, hopefully the notarized copies from a lawyer is acceptable!

Tkx to Sue for the time@her office – will donate Norges Lover 1685-1981 to her for an additional to all the other law books in the conference room! Will certainly make an impression to non-speaking Norwegian clients and to surprise Norwegian clients 🙂

The Marmalade Pantry****(Oasia Hotel Downtown). Yummy Truffles Fries and tasty Minute-Steak Sandwich.

Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) 市区重建局, the national urban planning authority of SIN where I like to visit whenever in the area and when time permits – highly recommended. Enjoy the regular updates and info of my birth island-city&country. Today there is a new painting at the lobby, Horizons of Change by ChanKerk Tay.

The model of the whole SIN island is so thoroughly well-done that in spite of my aging eye-sight, can still find&see where my accommodations can be located!

See The Big Picture by Stephen Wiltshire is located here on Level2

To the library@Esplanade to collect the reserved MeePokMan DVD and to Spotlight@PlazaSIN to get some sewing accessories. Indeed a very busy&productive Mon!

Tue: grocery shopping around dinner time for reduced items+3%discount can be a decent saving. Also not so crowded and foods like roast-chicken, prawns, pork&salmon are reduced. All that including washing detergent at Giant/Parkway under S$50 with PassionCard points added.

Wed: tkx to Pat for T@Tanglin Club. Nice to catch up with Cecelia who lives half the year in Aus.

Movie The Big Sick****based on the real-life courtship between Pakistan-born aspiring comedian Kumail and Emily, a grad student. What they thought would be just a one-night stand blossoms into the real thing, which complicates the life of Kumail whose parents are traditional Muslim.

Thu: so sad to hear about these devastating floods in Sierra Leone (Kitty is safely away at present). Nepal (Deepak, where are you?). Thoughts&prayers are with the ppl affected.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/08/floods-kill-300-fears-rise-600-missing-170816060837531.html

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2017/aug/16/floods-and-devastation-in-india-nepal-and-bangladesh-in-pictures

Lunched@Crossings Cafe – tkx to KK. Appreciations to cousin Karen for her delicious home-made Kuching Laksa – pix credits of me to her.

Yummy bread from Asanoya****in good company with lovely cool, wet&rainy weathers.

13 Aug 2017 – A Celebrations of Dreams

Fri: TGIF and tkx for good company from Seb&Adrian who kindly loan his Flux HD Zoom for me to try out.

Sat: neighbourhood setting up for the National Day party and was not even aware of it until I was heading for the bus in the late afternoon. Looks like quite a set-up, saw on the sign that the ticket for this party cost S$10.

Marina Square’s food-court is the only food-court I have seen robots along the aisles asking you to leave your trays in them. Was about to place my tray there, but the cleaning crew just took it off my hands, probably feeling threatened about their jobs by these robots! This location is good when I need a bite before or after a concert.

A delightful performance by OMM/Orchestra of the Music Makers with the Taipei Philharmonic Chorus and the International Festival Chorus&Friends at Esplanade Concert Hall.

Rit played the piccolo and also the flute in between – if my eyes were not playing tricks on me! Quite amazing to have such a large choir filling the hall with their glorious voices complimenting a full orchestra in this sold out concert. With Elgar in the program, one of the encore pieces were of course Pomp and Circumstance. May the Force be with them all.

We are the music-makers,

Nice to see that Singapore Dreaming (2006) was showing@the Concourse as I was leaving. Have seen this movie and enjoyed it then, but stayed for a few minutes to soak in the ambiance, and there was an empty bean-bag available on the floor.

Sun: inspiring and worthy to document – especially when I hope to also go back to school when unable to travel and if my mental health is still intact 🙂

http://www.todayonline.com/world/91-year-old-thai-woman-earns-bachelors-degree

Grandmother in her 80s still rocking away.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/guitar-slinging-grandma-mary-shreds-stereotypes-9102144

Glad to see young local talents being recognized and encouraged.

http://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/arts/classical-engagement

11 Aug 2017 – Everywhere Away From NPD

Mon: daughter & son giving their mother a ride! Tkx Pauline, Ruben & Eva for catching up, lunch&goodies – Feijoa candies, a new taste to the palate, would like to taste the real fruit. Pauline says that it is like guava, but I seem to disagree. Missed Tama who had to work. Enjoy the rest of the holidays and good luck with the new school-year to Pauline&kids who are in TanglinTrustSchool, an international school in SIN.

Delighted to see school kids+instructors (blue pleated pinafore uniforms tell that they are CHIJgirls, do not remember our sports’ uniform looking like these back in the 1950s-60s!) using ECPk for their sports activity on the beach. Like living in this area.

Tue: one day sale preview at IKEA and decided to go to the Tampines location by the free shuttle from BedokInterchange. Disappointed that the gravlaks there is served without the mustard sauce! The few items on my list are not on sale. Got this cute owl night-light S$19.90, to replace the old broken one.

Caught the wrong shuttle by mistake and ended up at Tampines! Decided to explore this uncharted (it is my first time here) area since I was here.

A chance to discover the new TampinesHub which I learnt was not connected to the MRTstation or the mall as I thought it was. Took the bus from the MRTstation and realized that it was only 1stop away, ie a few blocks and could have walked.

Previously, community activities were held at temporary spaces like the plot of land next to MRTstation or the open space behind the station. Now all indoor and outdoor activities can be held in this impressive 5-storey building housing

5,000-seat stadium, a roof-top garden, the library, theater, retail stores, eateries, etc.

Wed: Happy 52nd National Day SIN! The best National Days or any days are times with family&friends. Tkx to 4th-sis-in-law, Annie, Judy&Daisy, Vincent&Clem, Stanely&Andrew (missed you Darryl) for including me – Irish duck+yummy Chinese food@TunglokTeahouse***FarEastSq.

My favourite durian shaved-ice@Mei Heong Yuen Dessert****Chinatown and SIN foods@QuJi***SuntecCity.

Thu: what a wonderful day when in musical company of Rit, the young charming talented flautist and with Tama, the drummer. Tkx to Simplicius for lunch@the market and for this lovely gathering with Pat@TiongBahru. The bakery there does live up to it’s name with the best croissant tasted in SIN. This new joint Whisk looks interesting but only had room for water there!

Pat&I watched Dunkirk***serves up emotionally satisfying (not so for me) spectacle, delivered by a writer-director in full command of his craft and brought to life by a gifted ensemble cast that honors the fact-based story about when allied soldiers from Belgium, the British Empire and France are surrounded by the German army and evacuated during a fierce battle in World War II.

Mankind must put an end to war before war puts an end to mankind – JohnF Kennedy

6 Aug 2017 – 1925-1985+Today

Fri-Sun: spent a couple of hours@National Museum, but not enough time. Need to return to go thru’ SIN History Gallery.

Modern Colony 1925-1935 – with the industrialization of the West, introduced new ideas, technologies and cultures were adapted. Set in a 1920s B/W bungalow, this gallery explores the cosmopolitan nature of SIN as a British Crown colony.

The whole atmosphere is different. It’s 1926-27, it’s a thoroughfare. There were motorcars… it’s like coming from a very primitive village (Swatow) to town (Orchard Rd) – Lee MuiLing

Surviving Syonan 1942-1945 – how SIN coped with daily life in a period of great adversity, a time when most will prefer not to have happened and or remembered.

Growing Up 1955-1965 – this is the only era that I can relate best to, being born in 1950 and leaving SIN in 1965! The Everyday Kid, The Rebels, The Neighbours

The Crescendos, first local pop-band, record label with Philips (1963). Toys like home-made catapult, paper- dolls were my favourites. Sport trophies&medals won by SIN including Tan HoweLiang’s Olympic silver in Rome (1960) for weightlifting.

We Built A Nation 1965-1975 – is dedicated to an exploration of the first 10pivotal years of independence that shaped SIN history. It pays tribute to LKY contributions to SIN, and the ideals and convictions that shaped him and his generation of leaders.

Nice to see Yip YewChong’s painting under the staircase.

Voices of SIN 1975-1985 – attempt to define the SIN identity.

1950, the pop of SIN was 1+mil with 1,487ppl perSqKm – today’s pop 5+mil with 8,571ppl perSqKm. Am totally claustrophobic and dislike crowds and noises, thus learning how to survive here…

http://www.bluemarblecitizen.com/world-population/Singapore

Glass Rotunda – Story of the Forest and Singapore, Very Old Tree.  Colourful digital presentation.  Photography installation explores the discourse of nature in SIN.

Desire and Danger – at the GohSengChooGallery, this exhibition explores WilliamFarquhar Collection of Natural History Drawings explores the complex and sometimes uneasy relationship between man and nature. Whenever Farquhar is mentioned, it is easy to speculate that if history is correct, then Kama has done its job with Raffles’s children – considering how badly Raffles treated Farquhar…

Random pix from the museum. Those chandlers were red a decade ago, now they are of Swarovki crystals.

Movie Hampstead***an American widow, adrift and struggling to keep her flat in the London suburb of Hampstead and a man who lives on the Heath form an alliance against unscrupulous property developers in the neighborhood.

Curiosity leads to friendship and unexpected late-life love.

Campers’ Corner@51 Waterloo St, geared and ready with a new season even a fireplace for your comfort if and when the AC gets too cold! The only outfitters store where you can sit and relax with a cuppa or a glass of wine while discussing about the best suitable gears for your needs.

Tkx to Calvin for dinner@Taste of Thailand***(formerly from SembawangShoppingCentre Basement) Stall 12, 18 SinMingLane, MidviewCity. First time in this location tasting the yummy LaoPoSoup老婆湯, full of seafood which has a tinge of Thai flavour!

Mr Ang tells me that the Lao Po soup is so named because it is something he would cook for his wife regularly.  It epitomizes his style of cooking. Not quite Thai, not quite Singaporean.  It has that characteristic tang but not as tangy as a ‘tom yum’.  It is milky but not quite like a ‘tom kha’.  It tastes more like a Thai Red Curry cross with curry laksa without the laksa leaves.  There is a treasure trove of seafood in the claypot apart from the crab which gives the soup a good crustacean umami boost –  Dr Leslie Tay

4 Aug 2017 – Welcome August

Mon-Wed: here in the neighbourhood, preparations for SIN 52nd Bday are in full swing or should I say completed! Catching up and chilling with mundane activities, nursing a deep cough and surfing online. Some links where Where Words Fail Music Speaks that I would like to KIV here.

http://indulgd.com/piano-house-in-huainan-city-china/

Orchestral Musicians Bring Whales To Surface –

http://www.cmuse.org/orchestral-musicians-bring-whales-to-surface/

Would like to imagine that many of us are listening and hearing these lyrics and most important, practicing them! PEACE be with us all✌️

https://www.apost.com/en/blog/brand-new-spin-on-john-lennons-classic-is-putting-tears-in-everyones-eyes/1802/?debug=false&vt=1501789931

All pix from links downloaded.

Thu: morning walk to MarineTerrace wet-market and on EastCoastRd for grocery & foods.

Do like the Peranaka culture&foods, so just as well this is my neighbourhood!

Welcome back to SIN Richard&Judy and enjoy your stay here. Tkx to them and Hong for Peranaka food, the kind that is difficult to get when living overseas. Lovely catching up with childhood friends, now Age to Perfection with local foods in a local tropical presentation.

Fri: TGIF

Growing old is humbling and it takes effort to accomplish this stage of life with dignity – Kilroy Oldster

2 Aug – Happy Bday Claire

4 Aug – Happy Bday Candice Tay

5 Aug – Happy Bday LAM ChengEn

9 Aug – Happy 50th Bday SIN

10 Aug – Happy Bday LAM JenWee

31 Jul 2017 – Farewell To July 2017

Thu: needed this day to recover from the news about Ranveig.

Fri: bus197 to NorthBridgeRd for breakfast and you will have no problems finding somewhere at these shop-houses across from BujisJunction – good MeePok for S$3.50.

Walked down to towards RafflesHotel which is under renovation. RafflesCity with 2 new white sculptures, one pointing@RafflesCity and the other pointing@CapitolBuilding.

Edited 1Aug: so this is what is going on@RaffledCity, Tian Tian Xiang Shang Exhibition. Like the literally translated title Looking Up Everyday but these sculptures do not speak to me! Pix credits to Gel for the poster on the right

Passing by StAndrew’sCathedral into ColemanSt where it is all ready for NationalDay (9Aug) and matching the theme of NationalGallery latest Exhibition.

Some of the permanent displays along Coleman St.

There are 4entrances into NationalGallery, so if you are meeting anyone, make sure to specify which one.

Yayoi Kusama – Life is the Heart of a Rainbow is why I am here today.

Forget about connecting the dotes, they grow on you as you wander thru’ this amazing maze of dotes.

Infinity Mirrored Room where reflections within reflections seem to forever extend the visual field – Gleaming Lights of the Souls. Felt a bit like I was in Twlight-Zone!

The Narcissus Garden – when gazing into it, the viewer only saw his/her own reflection staring back, forcing a confrontation with one’s own vanity and ego. Quite a fascinating effect…

More fun random dotes, tkx to Audrey. Yayoi sums it all as to why dotes and circles…

Sat: bus36 to SMU thru’ the old gates of the former NationalLibrary via the outdoor escalator up to the new SMU/School of Law to early morning walk@FortCanning Park. 

What a welcome crow from a very handsome rooster or should I say cock 🙂 Good to be back in such familiar grounds – Chan&I designed the flyer&map here when we were working in H&H which has be modified but I can still recognize it clearly from our original design.

Designed and printed in the late 1990s or early 2000s. Need to get the correct year when time permits. This was my favourtie project, thus documenting it here before the hard copy is lost.

Appreciations to Nparks for the informative Trees of the Fort Tour and nice to meet Choy KuenChin. Tree pix edited to Amazing Tree blog post –

https://amylamsg.com/2012/07/12/around-the-world/

Continued to the NationalLibrary for a talk on Spice up you food blog by SethLiu and was pleasantly surprised by an exhibition of before and after pix, which are to my great interest. Again to show how things have a tendency work out for the best.

Was sooo excited to see and recognize old pix of Orchard Rd. Busy snapping pix at all angles and was completely unaware that the Guest of Honour Yaacob Ibrahim (Minister of Communications and Information) was standing beside me. Thank you for his patience and graciousness to wait until I was done. Apologized for being in the way, but was just thrilled to see the music store Keller Piano where my music supplies were from in the 1950s. Father owned the property then!

Above 2B/Wpix downloaded of Orchard Rd – pix credits to SIN National Archives.

A busy and tiring day continuing to SuntecConvention to get my annual supply of Recogen supplement S$248 (including free for 2months), seems to help me but of course nothing scientifically proven. Ended with dinner@BeerThaiHouseRestaurant (GoldenMileTower), maybe it is my imagination, but the food seems better some years ago!

12 Storeys***1997@TheProjector – SIN drama film focuses on the troubled lives of several people living in the same building, directed by Eric Khoo (son of old family friend).

Good job from director and his crew but was a depressing movie, definitely not comedy for me! Tkx to Rosemary for her company.

Sun: tkx Les&Ivy for lunch@TiongBahru and home-made black-pepper crabs dinner. Nothing can beat catching up with family for yummy local foods. Need to rest after such an active&colourful weekend 🙂

Nostalgia is a file that removes the rough edges from the good old days – Doug Larson

26 Jul 2017 – In Memory Of Ranveig

Mon: tkx to Hannah for showing me around to find the food court Kopi (which accepts my Kopitiam card) on the ground floor of the JurongEast MRT Station. Was waiting at Westgate (appreciations to  EleanorFoong for the correct location) which is connected to the MRT station and is totally new to me, refreshing to see the greenery in the courtyards among all the concrete, but glad that I was at the wrong place or would not have ventured into this new mall.

Appreciations to The International Association for the Study of Irish Literature/IASIL for their Opening Reception and the first day of launches and readings (24-28Jul 2017)@the HSS Building at NTU which is between the Chinese Heritage Centre and the Hive. Need to re-read James Joyce’s Ulysses –

Love loves to love love

Tkx to Rosemary&BoonCheng for the ride to Commomwealth MRT Station. Do remember that I did some work here for the Business School many moons ago, but gave it up as the journey on public transport with MRT EastWestLine and 2buses changes took nearly 2hrs to get here.

Tue: many thanks to Ambassador Geoffrey Keating and Mrs Jane Keating for hosting the book launches for the IASIL 2017.

A lovely evening was had by all@the Irish Ambassador’s Residence. There are so many books I would like to read before the eyesight goes. Quite a difference with time – took 90min for bus196 from MarineC to Commonwealth during rush hour and 50mins back in the late evening.

Edited 16 Aug:  in spite of my back profile in The Irish Times, was following the with speech 🙂

https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/an-irish-literary-summer-school-in-singapore-1.3179501

Wed: Safe journey home to HI/USA to cousin Wilki&Patti. Tkx to Jo for dinner.

Condolences to Ranveig’s family. Pix downloaded from her FB. Was very shocked and saddened by the news of her passing and memories from the Northern Norway days kept creeping up today. Met Ranvieg in the 1970s where I was working at Tromsø Musikkskole and NordNorsk Musikkonservatorium and she was a student there then. She invited me to her parents’ farm, an island on Grytøya@Lundenes where I tasted my first and best fresh cod-liver – mølje. 

http://www.ht.no/nyheter/2017/07/25/Navn-p%C3%A5-omkommet-kvinne-frigitt-15063483.ece

On Sunday her body was found on this same island. Have not seen Ranveig or been back to Grytøya since then, but have never forgotten their kindness and hospitality. Regrets that I did not make that trip to Harstad when I was in Tromsø last year. May she RIP. Pix downloaded in memory of her and her parents.

Better pass boldly into that other world, in the full glory of some passion, than fade and wither dismally with age – James Joyce