It's probably true that the week before someone goes on holiday, it can be defined that they need a break. But for me and the Dodgess, I think this is certainly true this time.
I have worked since January, in which time I've taken all of 5 days paid leave, and whilst two of those were related to going on a trip to Indonesia, it still marks a long long time without an extended break.
What's more, this has not exactly been a quiet year, when you combine the efforts required to plan a wedding, sit chartership exams, then plan another wedding reception, all within 10 months of moving half way around the world.
So the Dodgess and I are really looking forwards to 4 days in the UK, then 4 in the USA, then 8 in the UK, completed by a week of indulgence in Vienna. We can't wait :)
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Getting Married
It was almost 20 months from when I said 'will you' to when we said 'I do' but on 25th Sept I married the Dodgess.
The preparations always seemed somewhat last minute, but probably weren't compared to some couples. We weren't folding orders of service the night before. In fact in the end I had a relatively quiet evening the night before.
I set quite a few alarms in the morning. Understandable I think - brooms aren't meant to be late. About an hour before I left for the church in the oldest, crummiest taxi in Singapore - hardly a hired Bentley.
Anyway, I reached the church with plenty of time, and whilst there were a few things to do, my main memory of is, frankly, of waiting. Dad says I was pacing, which is true - truth was I was bored into pacing. I did catch up with a few guests from the UK, who all arrived well in advance of the locals.
Then the doors closed - so presumably the Dodgess was outside. As she walked in, the thing that I remember the most is her smile! The church service seemed to go well. Actually, it's hard to tell - you can't see what is happening behind you.
At the end we had a line-up and then some photos. And then we went upstairs for an informal lunch - we actually did quite a lot of talking, and not all that much eating. Fortunately, the hotel where we had our Banquet provided us with a small plate of delivious macaroons. Which was lovely. It would have been far better had we been given the right room from the start, but the error was eventually sorted.
We had a bit of rest in the afternoon. There was a little preparation for the evening. A quick meeting before hand - but the hotel was good at juist doing things. A quiet little drinks reception, which was fun - lots of catching up.
After the first course (an Asian version of a cold cut platter) we zoomed upstairs to change - me from white to black, the Dodgess from white to blue. We got back in time for the 3rd course, preceeded by pouring a champagne fountain. That was fun - if a little nervewracking. We had about 20 glasses of champagne, and a bottle of Bollinger. Anyway, it all worked well, and we didn't spill any of the champagne either!
By the end of the evening I think almost all of those there were very stuffed - 8 courses is a lot to get through.
Overall - both of us had a really fabulous day. Hopefully the one in the UK will be equally fun!
A few photos:
The preparations always seemed somewhat last minute, but probably weren't compared to some couples. We weren't folding orders of service the night before. In fact in the end I had a relatively quiet evening the night before.
I set quite a few alarms in the morning. Understandable I think - brooms aren't meant to be late. About an hour before I left for the church in the oldest, crummiest taxi in Singapore - hardly a hired Bentley.
Anyway, I reached the church with plenty of time, and whilst there were a few things to do, my main memory of is, frankly, of waiting. Dad says I was pacing, which is true - truth was I was bored into pacing. I did catch up with a few guests from the UK, who all arrived well in advance of the locals.
Then the doors closed - so presumably the Dodgess was outside. As she walked in, the thing that I remember the most is her smile! The church service seemed to go well. Actually, it's hard to tell - you can't see what is happening behind you.
At the end we had a line-up and then some photos. And then we went upstairs for an informal lunch - we actually did quite a lot of talking, and not all that much eating. Fortunately, the hotel where we had our Banquet provided us with a small plate of delivious macaroons. Which was lovely. It would have been far better had we been given the right room from the start, but the error was eventually sorted.
We had a bit of rest in the afternoon. There was a little preparation for the evening. A quick meeting before hand - but the hotel was good at juist doing things. A quiet little drinks reception, which was fun - lots of catching up.
After the first course (an Asian version of a cold cut platter) we zoomed upstairs to change - me from white to black, the Dodgess from white to blue. We got back in time for the 3rd course, preceeded by pouring a champagne fountain. That was fun - if a little nervewracking. We had about 20 glasses of champagne, and a bottle of Bollinger. Anyway, it all worked well, and we didn't spill any of the champagne either!
By the end of the evening I think almost all of those there were very stuffed - 8 courses is a lot to get through.
Overall - both of us had a really fabulous day. Hopefully the one in the UK will be equally fun!
A few photos:
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Hong Kong
For some reason, Hong Kong has never been a city that I've been desperate to visit. No real idea why - it doeson paper seem my type of place - big city, tall buildings, very very pretty bridges...
And if visiting HK had come up, I really don't think I would have chosen the to do the trip the way that I did. For my first HK experience was a solo trip, integrated with my chartership exams, which I may or may not tell you about further.
So very early on a Friday morning I set off for Changi airport. By far my favourite airport in the world. Except this time I was flying from the Budget terminal - effectively a shed in the middle of nowhere. This, though, is still more pleasant than the worst of the UKs airports, and on a par with the better ones.
In between revising for exams in what is, quite simply, the most unremarkable hotel room I've ever stayed in, I dodged rain showers. And didn't dodge them all that well. I had a free Sunday - so tried to go and have a look around Kowloon. But got soaked. Then I thought of going up the Peak. But couldn't see it even from Hong Kong Island - so decided to compromise and stay at sea level, and get some shots across the harbour - but I couldn't see the other side..
In fact - it was so wet, that I needed a shower to dry off - which really just meant stoning in the hotel room doing revision. Of course - this is not a bad thing necessarily. After all, the trip was to take exams - and if I've passed these then it was successful. If I failed them, then it's one of the worst blow outs of my life!!
Eventually the place did clear enough for me to take and stitch this skyline of HK Island:
And if visiting HK had come up, I really don't think I would have chosen the to do the trip the way that I did. For my first HK experience was a solo trip, integrated with my chartership exams, which I may or may not tell you about further.
So very early on a Friday morning I set off for Changi airport. By far my favourite airport in the world. Except this time I was flying from the Budget terminal - effectively a shed in the middle of nowhere. This, though, is still more pleasant than the worst of the UKs airports, and on a par with the better ones.
In between revising for exams in what is, quite simply, the most unremarkable hotel room I've ever stayed in, I dodged rain showers. And didn't dodge them all that well. I had a free Sunday - so tried to go and have a look around Kowloon. But got soaked. Then I thought of going up the Peak. But couldn't see it even from Hong Kong Island - so decided to compromise and stay at sea level, and get some shots across the harbour - but I couldn't see the other side..
In fact - it was so wet, that I needed a shower to dry off - which really just meant stoning in the hotel room doing revision. Of course - this is not a bad thing necessarily. After all, the trip was to take exams - and if I've passed these then it was successful. If I failed them, then it's one of the worst blow outs of my life!!
Eventually the place did clear enough for me to take and stitch this skyline of HK Island:
Thursday, September 2, 2010
What September Holds
In many ways 2010 has so far been a relatively quiet year. I mean, once you take out the whole moving 7500 miles thing, then I've really not done much other than work.
I've not been on any giant adventure - I went on a rather sanitised tour of Indonesia for a few days - I even got a chest infection from there. Otherwise I've not been out of Singapore. I've managed to work for almost all of the year. And so far, I've not yet spent a single night away from Singapore on work. A remarkable achievement for someone who racked up some 150 nights on business in 2008 and 2009. But the truth is Jan to August this year has been remarkably unremarkable.
Somehow I think September may be rather more memorable. I mean, I'm leaving Singapore, to go to Hong Kong, for 3 days. Sounds fun doesn't it. What a pity it will be ruined primarily by the absence of the Dodgess, and secondarily by two exams that I have to sit (and pass come to that) in order to become a professional engineer. In many ways I hate the concepts of these exams - I mean, in what way have I been unprofessional as an engineer for the past 4 years? Have I been keeping my amateur status in order to design at the engineering olympics? Or perhaps if I pass I'll suddenly find I don't get distracted by interesting websites that have nothing to do with work!
I'm also going to see the Singapore Grand Prix. That should be fun I think. Better buy some ear plugs though - guess it will not be quiet.
Oh and I'm getting married. That will be memorable. Over the past few months we've put in quite of lot of effort, and even now we are working hard to get the details sorted. We are getting there - The Dodgess has her dress. We have a menu, we've sent out invitations, we think we know who may turn up... still a few more to go too. But we'll get there :)
Anyway, September got off to a good start last night, after our last meeting with the hotel, we were invited to eat their buffet. It was very very good... the range was perhaps not as much as for my birthday, but the quality was. It also had the most magical desert I've had - a harmless looking chocolate mouse that then burst into life inside my mouth like a million little fireworks (very little, nicely chilled fireworks). Hopefully all of September will be equally fabulous!
I've not been on any giant adventure - I went on a rather sanitised tour of Indonesia for a few days - I even got a chest infection from there. Otherwise I've not been out of Singapore. I've managed to work for almost all of the year. And so far, I've not yet spent a single night away from Singapore on work. A remarkable achievement for someone who racked up some 150 nights on business in 2008 and 2009. But the truth is Jan to August this year has been remarkably unremarkable.
Somehow I think September may be rather more memorable. I mean, I'm leaving Singapore, to go to Hong Kong, for 3 days. Sounds fun doesn't it. What a pity it will be ruined primarily by the absence of the Dodgess, and secondarily by two exams that I have to sit (and pass come to that) in order to become a professional engineer. In many ways I hate the concepts of these exams - I mean, in what way have I been unprofessional as an engineer for the past 4 years? Have I been keeping my amateur status in order to design at the engineering olympics? Or perhaps if I pass I'll suddenly find I don't get distracted by interesting websites that have nothing to do with work!
I'm also going to see the Singapore Grand Prix. That should be fun I think. Better buy some ear plugs though - guess it will not be quiet.
Oh and I'm getting married. That will be memorable. Over the past few months we've put in quite of lot of effort, and even now we are working hard to get the details sorted. We are getting there - The Dodgess has her dress. We have a menu, we've sent out invitations, we think we know who may turn up... still a few more to go too. But we'll get there :)
Anyway, September got off to a good start last night, after our last meeting with the hotel, we were invited to eat their buffet. It was very very good... the range was perhaps not as much as for my birthday, but the quality was. It also had the most magical desert I've had - a harmless looking chocolate mouse that then burst into life inside my mouth like a million little fireworks (very little, nicely chilled fireworks). Hopefully all of September will be equally fabulous!
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Watch out London
I thought about titling this post as Youth Olympics. But I think the truth is that if I did, all of those of you who read this outside of Singapore would think it was some sort of school thing.
It isn't. No. This is the latest idea of Jacques Rogge, the IOC president. He felt that the 14-18 year olds needed their own version of the Olympics. Two years ago two cities were interested in bidding, and Singapore beat off the challenge of Moscow.
For me, the concept is slightly flawed in the first place if the aim is to show off the world's best sport talene. The sports fall into two categories, those where the peak is reached in the mid-twenties to early thirties (athletics, swimming, sailing etc) and those where the last 3 Olympics were won by people aged 12 and below (gymnastics). So, by having something for 14-18 year olds you either get sportsmen before or after their peak. That's beyond trying to squeeze another sporting event into a calendar that this year includes the World Cup and Commonwealth Games.
Nonetheless, Singapore put on an opening ceremony as extravagant as any (I daresay a little more extravagant than London's will be, and certainly a lot more slick and rehearsed). And so let the festival of the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) start. Er no - not really. I mean that I've not been to any of the sports - but it is hardly the talk of the town. Frankly, it's more the WHY OG?
So, we don't get the great sport, we don't get the buzz. What do we get? Well - if I'm brutal, we get the nuisance. In South Africa they changed laws so that it became a criminal offence to wear anything with a logo bigger than an ant. So in other words - something that quite frankly ought to be no more than a civil offence rectifiable by damages. Over here, we have WhyOG lanes. In them, you have to give way to WhyOG vehicles. I've no idea what happens to you if you don't - but they do seem to be quite clear. (I hear London is doing something similar - who cares - none of you reading this drive in London).
Still - I will give the WhyOG a chance - probably by going and watching some sailing this weekend. I can do this from the beach, so the worst case scenario is a walk along the, er beach. I doubt that it will be as good as standing on the bank of the Cam during a Gale. I doubt that I will be able to hear the crack of splitting wood combined with the scream of anguish, and the flow of four letter words. Not that I suspect the children are too angelic - just too far away.
(Actually, I note that over here, swearing doesn't quite happen so much. And it tends to get a better reaction when you do swear)
Whilst I doubt that London's Olympics will be quite such an Own Goal as the Why OG have, I'm sure that they will be even more along the lines of... well Olympic lines, and laws.
It isn't. No. This is the latest idea of Jacques Rogge, the IOC president. He felt that the 14-18 year olds needed their own version of the Olympics. Two years ago two cities were interested in bidding, and Singapore beat off the challenge of Moscow.
For me, the concept is slightly flawed in the first place if the aim is to show off the world's best sport talene. The sports fall into two categories, those where the peak is reached in the mid-twenties to early thirties (athletics, swimming, sailing etc) and those where the last 3 Olympics were won by people aged 12 and below (gymnastics). So, by having something for 14-18 year olds you either get sportsmen before or after their peak. That's beyond trying to squeeze another sporting event into a calendar that this year includes the World Cup and Commonwealth Games.
Nonetheless, Singapore put on an opening ceremony as extravagant as any (I daresay a little more extravagant than London's will be, and certainly a lot more slick and rehearsed). And so let the festival of the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) start. Er no - not really. I mean that I've not been to any of the sports - but it is hardly the talk of the town. Frankly, it's more the WHY OG?
So, we don't get the great sport, we don't get the buzz. What do we get? Well - if I'm brutal, we get the nuisance. In South Africa they changed laws so that it became a criminal offence to wear anything with a logo bigger than an ant. So in other words - something that quite frankly ought to be no more than a civil offence rectifiable by damages. Over here, we have WhyOG lanes. In them, you have to give way to WhyOG vehicles. I've no idea what happens to you if you don't - but they do seem to be quite clear. (I hear London is doing something similar - who cares - none of you reading this drive in London).
Still - I will give the WhyOG a chance - probably by going and watching some sailing this weekend. I can do this from the beach, so the worst case scenario is a walk along the, er beach. I doubt that it will be as good as standing on the bank of the Cam during a Gale. I doubt that I will be able to hear the crack of splitting wood combined with the scream of anguish, and the flow of four letter words. Not that I suspect the children are too angelic - just too far away.
(Actually, I note that over here, swearing doesn't quite happen so much. And it tends to get a better reaction when you do swear)
Whilst I doubt that London's Olympics will be quite such an Own Goal as the Why OG have, I'm sure that they will be even more along the lines of... well Olympic lines, and laws.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Menu Tasting
So The Dodgess and I aren't exactly foodies. I remember once talking to a certain English cousin who, when I suggested that I'd splashed out and spent £60 for dinner she was staggered that I'd spent that for two of us - she had spent 50% more than that - per person.
Once in a while however, we do make an effort in terms of dinner. I remember meals in Salisbury, and a hotel in South Wales the day after we got engaged. Another couple in the same class was a Thai restaurant in Lincoln, and our engagement party in Boston - that food was fabulous. In the past month I've had two such meals. (Incidently, I daresay at some point I will fill a post with the opposite - the most awful meals ever).
The first was my birtday meal - at a hotel on the Waterfront in Singapore. All the more surprising perhaps, because it was a buffet. But not any ordinary buffet. I think I had food from just about every country between England and Japan. And most of it the best that I've tasted. I also had things that I would never normally dream of - my starter consisted of clams, scallops, lobster, crab and oyster... not a bad little platter. Then a series of taster courses prepared pretty much in front of our eyes. To end was a sponge cake that had I breathed a little harder would have taken off.
And this evening, the Dodgess and I had our wedding banquet - or at least the tasting session for it. I have to say that I'd have been delighted with probably 7 of the 8 courses. We started with the chinese version of a cold cut platter, and ended with mango mousse, by way of pork noodles, chicken, garoupa, shark fin soup, sea cucumber, and scallops. At the end the chef came and talked things through with us. Apparently he knows that sometimes the garoupa isn't great - it comes from farmed rather than fresh stock. A couple of little changes to the menu, and all is good, I hope.
But the really really remarkable thing about most of these nights is, although I know that the food was awesome, I can't really remember the food in detail. The truth is, even on the two nights I've just eulogised about, the food has only been a side attraction.
Once in a while however, we do make an effort in terms of dinner. I remember meals in Salisbury, and a hotel in South Wales the day after we got engaged. Another couple in the same class was a Thai restaurant in Lincoln, and our engagement party in Boston - that food was fabulous. In the past month I've had two such meals. (Incidently, I daresay at some point I will fill a post with the opposite - the most awful meals ever).
The first was my birtday meal - at a hotel on the Waterfront in Singapore. All the more surprising perhaps, because it was a buffet. But not any ordinary buffet. I think I had food from just about every country between England and Japan. And most of it the best that I've tasted. I also had things that I would never normally dream of - my starter consisted of clams, scallops, lobster, crab and oyster... not a bad little platter. Then a series of taster courses prepared pretty much in front of our eyes. To end was a sponge cake that had I breathed a little harder would have taken off.
And this evening, the Dodgess and I had our wedding banquet - or at least the tasting session for it. I have to say that I'd have been delighted with probably 7 of the 8 courses. We started with the chinese version of a cold cut platter, and ended with mango mousse, by way of pork noodles, chicken, garoupa, shark fin soup, sea cucumber, and scallops. At the end the chef came and talked things through with us. Apparently he knows that sometimes the garoupa isn't great - it comes from farmed rather than fresh stock. A couple of little changes to the menu, and all is good, I hope.
But the really really remarkable thing about most of these nights is, although I know that the food was awesome, I can't really remember the food in detail. The truth is, even on the two nights I've just eulogised about, the food has only been a side attraction.
Monday, August 9, 2010
National Day
In the past few days I've been asked quite often whether Britain had a National Day. And, somewhat awkwardly, I say not really. It's quite truthful - we don't really. I mean, we have Saint's Days for each country, which are sort of celebrated. And we have the Queen's official birthday celebrations - which has some form of national celebration in it. But none of them really make a proper Nation Day along the lines of Bastille Day, Independence Day, or Singapore's National Day.
Over here we are given the day off - always good. The main event is a military parade following by a show. This year, as a five year 1 off, they paraded their tanks and other military equipment as well.
The military parade is quite sweet - in addition to the Guards of Honour from the armed forces, the police, and even scouts and girl guides are involved, and culminates in a fly past of various planes and helicopters.
The show is probably best analogised to an opening ceremony at the Olympics - full of symbolism, this time for Singapore's flag. It is quite impressive - very colourful, very slick, all very impressive. I have a feeling that if we tried it in the UK, it would just look a bit twee.
25000 people get to watch the parade each year, and for those who didn't get tickets in the ballot, you can watch on tv. In fact, if you want to watch on tv, it's hard not watch it - it is shown in parallel on 4 different channels, with what I suspect is the same scripted commentary in each of the 4 main languages here.
Overall the whole thing is incredibly slick and impressive - they use the best Singapore has to offer - starting in sunshine (there are rumours that they seed the clouds) and then the sunsets to allow better colours and fireworks. It is located in the equivalent of the Mall - which also happens to be overlooked by Singapore's most impressive architecture.
Of course - this level of choreography does not happen without rehearsal. For the past 6 saturdays the road past work has been closed as it is the staging area. Apparently the rehearsals have even included the fireworks displays... Also - when I've not been struggling to get passed the road blocks at work, the fly past preparations have gone passed my flat. And not only have they been practicing for 6 weeks, but the whole country has hung flags. There must be tens of thousands that appear up to a month before. I can see about a dozen from my window.
As an outsider it would be very easy to sneer at this. Several would interpret the whole thing as propoganda. However, for someone whose country doesn't really have a complete National Day, it actually comes accross as a celebration of the country.
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Over here we are given the day off - always good. The main event is a military parade following by a show. This year, as a five year 1 off, they paraded their tanks and other military equipment as well.
The military parade is quite sweet - in addition to the Guards of Honour from the armed forces, the police, and even scouts and girl guides are involved, and culminates in a fly past of various planes and helicopters.
The show is probably best analogised to an opening ceremony at the Olympics - full of symbolism, this time for Singapore's flag. It is quite impressive - very colourful, very slick, all very impressive. I have a feeling that if we tried it in the UK, it would just look a bit twee.
25000 people get to watch the parade each year, and for those who didn't get tickets in the ballot, you can watch on tv. In fact, if you want to watch on tv, it's hard not watch it - it is shown in parallel on 4 different channels, with what I suspect is the same scripted commentary in each of the 4 main languages here.
Overall the whole thing is incredibly slick and impressive - they use the best Singapore has to offer - starting in sunshine (there are rumours that they seed the clouds) and then the sunsets to allow better colours and fireworks. It is located in the equivalent of the Mall - which also happens to be overlooked by Singapore's most impressive architecture.
Of course - this level of choreography does not happen without rehearsal. For the past 6 saturdays the road past work has been closed as it is the staging area. Apparently the rehearsals have even included the fireworks displays... Also - when I've not been struggling to get passed the road blocks at work, the fly past preparations have gone passed my flat. And not only have they been practicing for 6 weeks, but the whole country has hung flags. There must be tens of thousands that appear up to a month before. I can see about a dozen from my window.
As an outsider it would be very easy to sneer at this. Several would interpret the whole thing as propoganda. However, for someone whose country doesn't really have a complete National Day, it actually comes accross as a celebration of the country.
The largest Singaporean flag in the world - carried to town along East Coast Park.
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The helicopter guard of honour gathering, also above East Coast Park
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