The New Suit

Image via Wikipedia

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.