It's 2007!
And being the third day of the New Year it's back to work in Singapore, which is a bit of a wrench to the system as we Antipodeans are used to long and balmy summer vacations.
Mind you, I never took a long holiday in New Zealand at this time preferring instead to escape the coldness of winter mid year.
I mentioned in my last entry that we had visited the Presidential residence, Istana. What I neglected to say (and what many Singaporeans are unaware of) is that the grounds of Istana have been very successfully converted into what appears to be a nine hole golf course. Undoubtedly this landscaping intervention happened in recent years as it's hard to image Queen Vic's representative putting a round in his plus fours!
An entry on the Istana web site indicates that the grounds became a public park in the 1960's but the provenance of the golf course itself is not stated.
The sloping nature of the fairways reminds me of an uphill New Guinean airstrip. Many of the latter had very steep inclines which made it necessary for planes to land uphill and take off downhill - to gather speed before a precipitous drop at the end of the runway.
Each Istana green was roped off and under the watchful eye of the local constabulary when we joined the Open Day multitudes. Given that Istana is only opened rarely to the public, one can only wonder who makes regular use of the links?
Most enthusaists would agree that golf is a game that should be given up at least twice a month!
Today we took possession of our new condominium. It's feels good to be a 'man of property' again although we won't move in until our rennovations have been completed. It looks as if we will be able occupy the apartment before Chinese New Year which is good news. The bad news may come tomorrow when we learn what the costs of the minor works is likely to be.
Thursday, 4 January 2007
Sunday, 31 December 2006
Aunty 8 And Uncle 9
Wisma Atria is a shopping centre with a much vaunted food court on its fourth level. It is one of the many modern versions of the old hawker centres, with a combination of the various ethnic food styles that make up the cuisine of Singapore.
The place is always very crowded with locals and tourists alike, all fighting for eating space. Would be patrons hover like the ever-present mosquitos, ready to pounce on the unsuspecting when the opportunity for a seat presents itself.
This is not a space of quiet repose. It is a full-on eating house in the very distinctive "gobble and go" Singaporean style. No sitting post-meal for quite reflection here.
What is very obvious in such places are the numbers of elderly Uncle and Aunty retainers who are employed to undertake menial tasks such as cleaning and waiting tables.
The honorific of 'uncle' or 'aunty' is given to people older than oneself and is both a mark of respect and a statement of place in society. In the western world such a term would mean a family asscociation but not in Singapore. An entry in the Singlish dictionary describes them thus: "A Singaporean aunty or uncle can be anyone who is from the older generations, like an English old age pensioner and the term is used out of affection and respect"
Not that many years ago the retirement age in this country for women was fifty five and for men sixty. With a poor Singaporean birth rate this level has been raised, but increasingly one can see elderly folks supplementing them income by working well into their seventies.
In our own apartment complex we have Ah Kao (Photo above) who is well into his seventies and resonsible for maintenance and grounds. He is both vigorous and agile and clearly has not been following my sedentary lifestyle!
It is rare to see younger Chinese taking on such roles and as the elderly finally retire, their places are being taken by other races. As there is no social security system as such, senior citizens are expected to have made provision for their own retirement and be supported by their families if need be.
Late morning we visited the Presidential seat - Istana. It was the Governor's residence when Singapore was under British rule, although I note that the statue of Queen Vic has been relegated from the State Room to a leafy section of the gardens since that time.
This is the final blog entry for 2006. When I look back it has been a momentous year; changing jobs and countries, selling all of our chattels and adjusting to life here.
The place is always very crowded with locals and tourists alike, all fighting for eating space. Would be patrons hover like the ever-present mosquitos, ready to pounce on the unsuspecting when the opportunity for a seat presents itself.
This is not a space of quiet repose. It is a full-on eating house in the very distinctive "gobble and go" Singaporean style. No sitting post-meal for quite reflection here.What is very obvious in such places are the numbers of elderly Uncle and Aunty retainers who are employed to undertake menial tasks such as cleaning and waiting tables.
The honorific of 'uncle' or 'aunty' is given to people older than oneself and is both a mark of respect and a statement of place in society. In the western world such a term would mean a family asscociation but not in Singapore. An entry in the Singlish dictionary describes them thus: "A Singaporean aunty or uncle can be anyone who is from the older generations, like an English old age pensioner and the term is used out of affection and respect"
Not that many years ago the retirement age in this country for women was fifty five and for men sixty. With a poor Singaporean birth rate this level has been raised, but increasingly one can see elderly folks supplementing them income by working well into their seventies.
In our own apartment complex we have Ah Kao (Photo above) who is well into his seventies and resonsible for maintenance and grounds. He is both vigorous and agile and clearly has not been following my sedentary lifestyle!
It is rare to see younger Chinese taking on such roles and as the elderly finally retire, their places are being taken by other races. As there is no social security system as such, senior citizens are expected to have made provision for their own retirement and be supported by their families if need be.Late morning we visited the Presidential seat - Istana. It was the Governor's residence when Singapore was under British rule, although I note that the statue of Queen Vic has been relegated from the State Room to a leafy section of the gardens since that time.
This is the final blog entry for 2006. When I look back it has been a momentous year; changing jobs and countries, selling all of our chattels and adjusting to life here.
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