Saturday, 17 January 2009
Friday, 16 January 2009
A Passing Wind
It has been cool in Singapore this past fortnight. Cool being a comparative term.
Usually the temperature flat lines around 31 degrees and the television weather forecasts only record wind difference and likely thunderstorms.
For the past two weeks though we have been enjoying cooling trade winds. The temperature has plummeted to a balmy 24 degrees much to the consternation of the locals who can now been seen wearing shawls and track suit tops.
The real relief comes from the lack of humidity rather than temperature variation. The rainy season seems to have come and gone and the gardens of our condominium are looking distinctly parched. The frangipani are shedding their leaves and flowers.
The Straits Time reports that the cool snap has been far more severe in Thailand where "temperatures have fallen to 2 degrees Celsius in the north, killing five people and prompting the authorities to declare an emergency zone across half the country".
Considering that Singapore was hotter last year than the average for the last 50 years the current respite is most welcome.
Usually the temperature flat lines around 31 degrees and the television weather forecasts only record wind difference and likely thunderstorms.
For the past two weeks though we have been enjoying cooling trade winds. The temperature has plummeted to a balmy 24 degrees much to the consternation of the locals who can now been seen wearing shawls and track suit tops.
The real relief comes from the lack of humidity rather than temperature variation. The rainy season seems to have come and gone and the gardens of our condominium are looking distinctly parched. The frangipani are shedding their leaves and flowers.
The Straits Time reports that the cool snap has been far more severe in Thailand where "temperatures have fallen to 2 degrees Celsius in the north, killing five people and prompting the authorities to declare an emergency zone across half the country".
Considering that Singapore was hotter last year than the average for the last 50 years the current respite is most welcome.
Tuesday, 13 January 2009
River Dancing
On a summer night you can hear the snap
of a jack
ripples in the silver twilight
pursed lips towards the moon of mayflies dawning
in the still heat of evening making love
on the fatal attraction of
discarded waders
in a life so short and a dusk so long
and as blackness envelops
the memories cling like arms
passion sated
the whip of line laid low on water
stalking, still
the stream of consciousness unabated
of a jack
ripples in the silver twilight
pursed lips towards the moon of mayflies dawning
in the still heat of evening making love
on the fatal attraction of
discarded waders
in a life so short and a dusk so long
and as blackness envelops
the memories cling like arms
passion sated
the whip of line laid low on water
stalking, still
the stream of consciousness unabated
Monday, 12 January 2009
The One Eyed Dragon Comes Good?
News this week of the execution of a notorious triad member with strong gang connections in Malaysia.
Known to friends and foes alike as the One Eyed Dragon this gentleman reportedly had a violent temper and was so named becuase he was blind in one eye.
He was extradited from Malaysia where violence is unfortunately rife and the gang problem is immense. His crime, the cold blooded killing of another man and for this he paid the price. Singapore retains capital punishment for such offences.
While there is media interest in capital punishment the real story was that at the last minute this murderer donated his organs and one of the reported recipients was from a very wealthy Singapore family - the Tangs (of Tangs Department Store fame).
Mr Tang captured the headlines himself a few months ago when he was prosecuted and convicted for attempting to purchase a replacement kidney.
I expect there is a moral to this story but for now it escapes me.
Known to friends and foes alike as the One Eyed Dragon this gentleman reportedly had a violent temper and was so named becuase he was blind in one eye.
He was extradited from Malaysia where violence is unfortunately rife and the gang problem is immense. His crime, the cold blooded killing of another man and for this he paid the price. Singapore retains capital punishment for such offences.
While there is media interest in capital punishment the real story was that at the last minute this murderer donated his organs and one of the reported recipients was from a very wealthy Singapore family - the Tangs (of Tangs Department Store fame).
Mr Tang captured the headlines himself a few months ago when he was prosecuted and convicted for attempting to purchase a replacement kidney.
I expect there is a moral to this story but for now it escapes me.
Street Scene
A typical street scene in Singapore. The man on the left is wheeling his carrier/trolley down to the local supermarket. Once opened up these aids hold a surprising amount of groceries and other household items.
The use of umbrellas to shield the face from the ravages of sunlight is widely adopted in Singapore.
To be pale in skin is to be beautiful and harks back to earlier days, where those who were suntanned clearly worked in the fields and the lucky few with porcelain complexions were ladies of leisure and privelege.
Nowadays pale compexions come in a cosmetic bottle and skin whitening agents are applied with zeal.
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