The New Suit

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I have very good friends visiting from New Zealand and today we had the pleasure of taking them to partake of some of the shopping sites along Orchard Road.

Orchard Road has been featuring for other reason this past week.  A small plague of rattus rattus has been disrupting the shopping frenzy near Orchard Plaza.

This is not exactly the publicity that any city desires so the pest control offciers have moved quickly to eradicate the vermin.  Bad publicity may have had an impact on local business but hopefully the green belt along the roadside is here ot stay.

In fact it is the greening of Singapore that drew much praise from our guests today.  They enjoyed the flowers and trees as much as the malls.

On the shopping list was a men's lightweight suit.  One of the many tailors in Koek Road won the right to tailor the suit in an imported herring bone pattern, for the princely sum of $Sing 330.  This being Saturday, the suit will be ready for its one and only fitting on Monday.

I look forward to seeing the result of this craftsmanship upon our return to Auckland in July.

Having read Clive Jame's hilarious account of his Singapore suit purchase in "Falling Towards England", I mused as to what the result might be?

The author only had a day to get a suit made as his liner was stopping over in Singapore.  It was duly delivered to his cabin in a small bundle of brown paper bound in string.  He did not unwrap it until he was in London and rushing to his first appointment with a Fleet Street editor.

As recounted, he was forced to shake hands from the elbow as he didn't dare rasie his arms for a full saluation; the tailor had not sewn the seems under the arms!

I am sure my friends will be very pleased with their result.  It has been lovely to see them and to share a few of the sights and sounds of Singapore.  It is very easy when one lives in a country for a period to time to adopt a jaundiced view.   So re-living the 'joy of the new' through someone else's eyes is a reminder as to just how vibrant the Orchard Road thoroughfare is.

A very fine bottle of New Zealand wine was also gifted to us and I intend to sample when the time is right.

Today's Print

Tanglin Leaf...........................Roger Smith  May, 2010

Aircon Blues

With uncanny timing, the air conditioning at work has failed and the welcome respite after a 20 minute wait at the bus stop each morning is sadly missing

This would not be hugely problematic in more temperate latitudes but in the middle of hot spell in Singapore it is most unpleasant.

At least at home we have fans to move the breeze about; a mechanised version of the punka wallah.  Here in the office we are without even this creature comfort.  I am beginning to realise why most offices in Singapore provide a shower cubicle.

Not that opening the windows brings any respite as the air is very still and the humidity around 100%.  An open window simply bring a cacophony of traffic noise from Orchard Road.

Not everyone is enamoured about air conditioning and there are some fairly extreme theories attached to it.

One guru states that "one of the things that can affect your cholesterol levels as well as your blood pressure levels is having to go in and out of an environment that has air conditioning."  Based on his prognosis my blood pressure this morning should be climbing rapidly.  It is, but not for the reason he states - I simply hate being hot and sticky.

At least the bus this morning was in full working order so I managed to cool down en route.  I shall miss my short trip to and from work when I leave Singapore.  It has been an opportunity to observe my fellow passengers as they slumber.

In true Sherlock Holmes fashion I play a little game of trying to ascertain what lifestyle they lead.  Not that I have been very successful in the art of deduction.

Just today I discovered that one of my fellow passengers whom I thought to be simply reserved was in fact profoundly deaf.  I observed her delight as she recognised a friend with a similar affliction and they spent their journey signing to each other.

The temporary loss of air conditioning somehow pales into insignificance when compared to a major disability such as deafness.

As I writ, a bevy of technicians are walking around the building scratching their heads and looking skywards.  I remain confident that will be a temperature drop in the near future.