Firebanners and Muntjac

 

It's been an exciting and busy time since I got back from Singapore and Indonesia, where I immediately plunged back into the business of preparing for the next departure to Newport. This mainly involved getting in people needed to do what's necessary for the house (getting the chimney swept, the fire extinguishers checked, a new alarm system installed, dripping taps seen to etc) and doing something about the garden -  'autumn-cleaning' as it were (garden furniture put away, mowing done, and a huge amount of apples and other such fruit dealt with. Various friends have already helped me out with this, and more are in the way. I also have to prepare myself !  This means a variety of things like getting the jabs I need, stocking up on pills - and more importantly continuing my education into the mysteries of the mobile-phone, thanks to Chiff. At the most basic this can also mean not leaving the phone behind in the airport departure gate, as I did in Doha on the way back !  (Very embarrassing !)

But there was time for some fun excursions too. Lunches with friends and a quick trip to Burgess Hill, where the coincidence of its being the weekend of the local Bonfire Society gathering. For those unfamiliar with this traditional Sussex activity, the county is full of such societies and every week they gather in support of one of their number for spectacular torch lit processions though the town or village followed by a firework display.  The firebanners at the beginning are amazing; they look quite alarming, and how they get away with it in these cloying days of oppressive health and safety regulations I do not know. (In this area, the local Pewsey carnival that has been held for over a century is likely to be stopped for that reason- the insurance has become  exorbitant). This year there was a special banner to the King. The marchers and bands must devote much of their lives to preparing for these often weekly occasions. A remarkable and much needed demonstration of community spirit, effective, said Philippa, even in Burgess Hill.

There were some quieter moments too. Swishing open my curtains early one morning I saw a Muntjac on the back lawn. It was quite unfazed by this and stared back at me curiously wondering what I was doing on its patch. Its unusual stillness offered me the chance for some quick photos. Of course, after my breakfast granola, I rushed out to check that my laurel defences were in good order after the depredations of the roe deer last spring. ( They weren't- but no harm done).

 

However, the general need to rush around to get everything done in time does raise the question of whether all this flitting about the world is actually worth it. In the case of my three weeks in Southeast Asia, the answer is definitely yes. It was my first time back since the beginning of Covid, nearly two and a half years ago  and so provided an opportunity for meeting up and working with friends and colleagues I haven't seen in a long time. This also involved a number of very enjoyable social occasions in both Indonesia and Singapore. Encouragingly, the one with the beer mugs is of a friend even older than I am !

 The one of me by the sea with the straggly hair was before I got a much-needed haircut in a local hawker market for rather less than it would have cost in Devizes (until the recent devaluation at least). These were all both interesting and fun. I was also struck by the fact that several of my colleagues, quite unprompted, referred admiringly to Cherry (including a Canadian historian at the NUS who I hadn't even realised had met her) now nearly five years, incredibly, after her departure.  

Also, the opportunity to re-visit - or at least look at - some of the places we used to frequent was fun. The Marina Bay Sands is new but one of the most iconic. It's a posh hotel, with a swimming pool and bar built across the top. There are even trees up there. For obvious reasons we used to refer to it as the cricket stumps. We stayed there a couple of times, courtesy of various conference sponsors. One had to come all the way down to the bottom to get breakfast and there were so many people staying there, it was a bit of a  mission. The swimming pool was one of those 'infinity' ones which have invisible glass sides. A reasonable head for heights as one towers above the city is an advantage. Creepy. Here it is from the top of the National Art Gallery across a Padang prepared for this week's Formula 1 race 

 

And here are two colleagues from my outfit in Singapore on Boat Quay, with the famous Fullerton Hotel in the background, all lit up. We stayed there too. Nothing but the best for us       

So it was all worth it, Will the same be true of the next sojourn in Newport ? Well I shall have to wait and see......

Back to the Land of the Green Lanterns

 

For the first time in over two years, I'm back in Singapore. Quite a lot has changed, including something like a 30 per cent cut in the number of taxis, so the 'green lanterns' - the sign on the taxi roof denoting 'availability' - are even scarcer than they were. Uber is quite rightly banned in Singapore for its atrocious treatment of drivers but there's a regulated alternative here called Grab. However even this, plus Covid, has resulted in the departure of many drivers, so perforce I have had to resort  to the underground, the MRT, more than usual. Being Singaporean, this is quick, efficient and cheap, but also crowded. As well, it involves a lot of walking about which in this climate means rather too many of what the locals call 'three shirt days.'  

This plus the fact that the Monsoon this year is particularly rainy, means that there haven't been many of the idle hours by the hotel pool that I was looking forwards to. In fact Singapore is not generally looking its best. The authorities took the opportunity of Covid to close down many of the attractions in order to refurbish them and a lot have still to complete this process. The City is opening up again, but preparing for the Formula One motor race through the streets also means a lot of barriers spoiling the view. Like this of the National Art Gallery (which, in a former incarnation was where Mountbatten took the Japanese surrender in 1945).

But that's OK, this wasn't meant to be a holiday, and in any case I have managed to revisit some favoured spots and have been welcomed with enthusiasm by at least one of the residents.

 I've also managed to get in some of the kind of thing that tourists like to do - like a drink (in my case a Tiger beer not the infamous sickly 'Singapore Sling' attributed to Noel Coward, probably wrongly) at Raffles Hotel. (We stayed there once when there was a special offer for local ex-pats, and enjoyed every minute of it. The occasion  was a visit by a UK based theatre group doing something by Noel Coward. Cherry wangled it through one of here local friends ).

And just wandering  around means encountering interesting sights. Not least the amazing trees they have around here. This one was on the way to a jungle area near the McCritichie reservoir, as  a taste of things to come.

But mainly this has been a work trip, with a week in the very different Jakarta as well. There have been lost of policy meetings for the Singapore delegation on which I am one, some held in shopping malls to cut down on time wasted in navigating Jakarta's interminable traffic jams. Another of these was a slightly incongruous gathering of me plus one Admiral and five other Indonesian naval officers for dinner in a prestigious Japanese restaurant. I don't usually much care for Japanese food but this was excellent - but offered some challenges. You try exploring the legal technicalities of 'archipelagic sea-lanes with a mouth  full of Prawn Tempura. Some of these Malls are real state of the art, as modern as modern can be, in extraordinary contrast to the rows and rows of tiny roadside stalls in narrow lanes, 100 yards away. Most of these look positively medieval, and have the same protocols too. This includes clusters of people making and selling the same kind of thing - such as stretches of mirror-makers, or people selling water-melons or whatever. Indonesia is building a new capital at the other end of Java, as the only way of escaping from such inconveniences. A shame in some ways. Yet more cultural homogenisation

But the trip has involved have been formal meetings too. here's a typical one. Polite chit-chat about protocols and memorandums of understanding between my Singapore outfit and our various hosts. I can easily be identified by the white hair, but also, the Batik shirt I am sporting.

Its much more comfortable  than a lounge suit and in fact rather more correct wear, in any case. 

Of course there have been presentations too. Quite a few in fact, some in Singapore and some in Jakarta.  Here's my audience  at SESKOAL the Naval Staff College. Note the mask wearing. The enforcement of anti-Covid regulations in Jakarta is stricter than in Singapore. You have to show evidence of vaccination to get into shopping malls, and many restaurants. Seating is often socially distanced.  But in Singapore too, though there has been some relaxation, there's very high levels of mask-wearing. This of course is another significant impediment to be confronted when walking about. There's a noticeable difference in attitude between the locals and Westerners. Looking at the scenes associated with the Queen's obsequies back in the UK, it looks very much as though we think we're done with Covid, but out here they are far less sure that Covid has done with us. We'll see, no doubt.