Gongxi facai - the year of the snake 恭喜发财

As I write the drums and cymbals of the second day of Chinese New Year are hammering out below the window of my apartment. It’s now the year of the Woodsnake, a year for the strong-minded. I spent the first day with the extended family of some local friends and colleagues. I couldn’t dress in auspicious colours (red and yellow) but my Hawaian shirt had some red in it and at least complied with requirement to be bright and cheerful. I didn’t buy new clothes for the occasion as is supposed to be the case (treating yourself). I also took along the mandatory pairs of mandarins/oranges to exchange with both sets of hosts, and one red packet for the young son of the first set.

Then to the taxi, ordered in advance because they are much scarcer on a public holiday especially this main one. Out through the lobby of my block, also dressed overall for CNY. Like most Singaporeans my main hosts live in one of a cluster high rises. In their cases its on the 15^th floor, offering great views of a densely populated area that is still determinedly green. From its inception the modern city was built in accordance with Feng shui  to ensure natural harmony. Although in many places the greenery is necessarily paper thin, they take planting urban trees and bushes  far, far more seriously than we do, or the rest of Asia for that matter.

Back to CNY. I arrived exchanged oranges, handed over the envelope – always with money in it and not to be opened on the day. Technically to all singles and kids. All is carefully performed and remembered. Then some Hakka appetisers – minced meat and noodles, and a Tiger beer while final arrangements were made for our departure to the lunchtime hosts in another high rise a little way off.

The time was passed with the young son, recovering from minor knee surgery, watching what I think was Godzilla II on a wall sized monitor. Set in an imaginary post-war Japan, its hero in the struggle against a vast and distinctly unfriendly monster from the deep was a failed kamikaze pilot and featured a much bigger Japanese navy than had survived the war. One of the ships I noticed was even called ‘kamikaze.’ Our hero achieved the mission of destroying the thing (or did he ? Options for Godzilla III were maintained) and even relocated Ariko, his young lady who had somehow survived the complete destruction of the high rise she was sheltering in. I found it quite genuinely fascinating, for all the analogies to a nuclear attack and the heroism of the military in a way that would have been completely unacceptable in Japan until the last decade  or so.

The second apartment was much older and stuffed with traditional Chinese stuff, wall hangings red and yellow decorations of all sorts. Piles of food, absolutely everywhere, Hokkien as this set of parents came from a different part of China. A nice set of traditional ebony chairs from Taiwan. The apartment was completely packed with people moving around, eating,  talking, sitting down and piles of kids playing obscure but noisy games in the corners of the room and collecting their red packets of course. The first day of CNY is for families, the second a more formal affair for friends. Everybody was extremely friendly. I was doing them the greatest favour imaginable by coming. Initially I was parked with some of the oldies. The chap next to me was second generation and used to be an expert on mending escalators. He showed me evidence of his second by-pass operation. Apparently now banned from riding his scooter by the rest of the family. His English wasn’t amazing, but a damn sight better than my mandarin. I was plied with food and drink sat and watched the animated scene with real interest.

What a big family I thought. I had been warned in advance but was really taken aback by the successive arrival of new family groups pouring in over the next hour or so. One of these groups was 17 people, including kids. They don’t get together very often and so set to work catching up in louder and louder mandarin and some Singlish, with explanations for me. At its peak there were between 60 and 70 people crammed into quite a small flat. It was joyful and excited bedlam. We ate at the table in informal shifts with people coming and going all the time. We above were about shift 4.

It was all very jolly. And I really did feel welcome as the only non-family member and a foreigner to boot. The females in particular have what I think the perfectly charming habit of energetically waving at you with beaming smiles when standing just 2 feet away. Pressure was relieved a bit when some of the kids were taken off to swim in the High Rise’s pool, and the time flashed past.

Then it was time to go, collecting one's oranges. Because they represent gold you have to leave with the same number that you came with. Back to the first flat where my hosts set to work preparing for Round 3. I wasn’t allowed to help, so was plonked on the settee with the young lad, given a bottle of Belgian beer (Leffe Blond, which I am very familiar with) more food to stave off starvation and started watching another fantasy. Not so sure about its plot as I fell asleep. Just for a short while. I was given a tour of the flat. Very minimalist and modern on the surface but all sorts of things stuffed into concealed corners. Especially into the mandatory air-raid shelter that all Singaporean flats are built with. I only hope that there’s enough warning before the Malaysians attack, for my hosts to get all their bicycles and so forth out of it first.

Then about half the lunch assembly arrived in contingents. Only about 30 people all told but in quite a small living area it seemed more. A bit calmer. Lots of chatting – the contingents including Air Force and Army officers, teachers, administrators, ex-museum administrators, one of who ran a photography gallery, judging exhibitions in London from time to time. More food and drink. Needless to say when they finally let me go ( I was the first in and the last out) I came away with a box of  hakka vegetarian. They got me a Grab and home I went.

So today, day 2, it being hot and my feeling a touch weary, I stayed at home, postponing a planned trip. But this did give me a literally bird’s eye view of how the elegant landed property behind me handled day 2 with friends. This was an equally crowded but much fancier affair, with everyone nicely dressed in clothes that looked new even if they weren’t. Bigger I think. Probably over 100.

They had got in some caterers and even hired a Lion Dance team to entertain  the masses. Hence all the drumming, clashing cymbals and shouting by 30 odd performers all dressed in gorgeous red and yellow costumes. This is an acrobatic effort in which the Lion seeks out oranges and occasionally bites people on the head to bring them good luck. Its very loud.

But with this  the year of the snake, being the year of the strong

willed (watch out America and the world) it's back to essay marking 

for me, for a while at least. 

PS I have to admit that CNY wasn't the only big event of my return to Singapore. The other was my 80th. Delivered by a big black Mercedes, I gave a big public lecture to about 150 people.  Afterwards, I was led off by the RSIS contingent and to my surprise found myself being serenaded with Happy Birthday and blowing out a candle on a cake. Its inside was virulently green, panan leaves I was told, but appropriately sweet and gooey ! A celebratory Italian meal followed. 

Christmas - A Retrospective

 

Back in Singapore, and in need of a rest. Christmas 2024 was certainly a hectic time and required many more hours flitting from one place to another than was even halfway sensible. One reason for this was having to service my annual trip to the Defence Academy in Brussels, a commitment nested inside unshiftable commitments in Singapore. It was worth it though.  I had a big (but not too big) bunch of naval students from various of Europe’s navies, including a contingent from Sweden who were very interesting indeed about cable cutting incidents in the Baltic.  They made it sound as though we are already in a low-level war with Russia and China. Interesting times !

More cheerfully, it was a very convivial few days with a special lunch and a dining out night in town. In any case Brussels at Christmas time takes a lot of beating. They light up the Grande Place with a son et lumiere that’s quite spectacular and the place is really one big Christmas market. I had two individual suppers out as well, in my usual haunts one of which is the ‘King of Spain.’

Usually I try to get one of the little window seats you can just about see here but this year for the first time they were reservation only. It was fun anyway.  They have a stuffed horse by the central stairs  which I think I have given an annual pat to, off and on, since the mid 1970s when I used to come here with the Greenwich staff course. The other place is the Grand Café a convivial café-bar – all belle epoque. Food wise I go all Flemish, obviously.

The metro station I travel to is interesting and has a Starbucks I use for breakfast, often as their first customer. The station is Schuman, which as the name suggests is right underneath the famous Berlaymont building the home of the European Commission. The whole area is full of bright young things all chattering away in English. What an opportunity we kicked away in the referendum !

The only disagreeable part of the trip was the return trip since Great Western  had cancelled my train and I had to come home after an appallingly crowded train to Swindon, squeezed up standing room only and I had three heavy bags. Fortunately someone gave up their (illicit) seat for me and the person who reserved it from Reading never turned up to claim it. And then I had to find the special bus to Pewsey. That was an experience too. There were four of us on the vast bus which went to Pewsey by the most peculiar route taking almost as long as the Eurostar to Brussels. I really wondered if he was actually lost. Then the car home.

That apart, the festive season was a full on family event, divided like Caesar’s Gaul into three parts. The first was everyone (except poor Philippa suffering from a particularly poisonous kind of flu who stayed at home) at Cross in Hand. I had a difficult drive there arriving after dark and late and causing some concern. A late start because amongst the two month pile of post I discovered a DVLA reminder that I needed a MOT and wouldn’t be taxed without it, so not insured. That needed sorting out and afterwards, it was a stressful journey. Once there it was terrific. All the usual of course. So terrific in fact that many of possessions clearly did not want to leave. When I pulled up at a Services for a breakfast coffee, I discovered that my coat and wallet were amongst them. Plan B was doing without. Fortunately I had filled up the tank on the way  to Cross-in-Hand !

Stage 2 was at Wansdyke with the teams from Walthamstow and Burgess Hill, this time with Philippa, valiantly recovering. Again all the usual. Midnight mass at All Cannings and a nice collective meal at the King’s Arms. We managed a walk to the Canal, accumulating on the swing bridge for a photo.

Stage 3 was again at Wansdyke when Cross-in-Hand came for the New Year. Again all the usual. Wood burner going full bore. Food. Another King’s Arms supper and some much needed exercise to Avebury. There by the ‘miraculous tree’ I bumped into Edward, Pat and Jame’s son. Most unexpected ! We got some more exercise in the village actually. Heavy winds had brought down a tree that blocked the path to the village (as well as distressing two of my fruit trees). So we set to clearing it with some first class wooding. The result was dumped in the garage to dry off and wait for attention until I get back.

The second major task was to take down the Christmas decorations, including both trees) something done the last afternoon before S,R&V went home as I was returning to Singapore the following morning.

So, all pretty hectic ! Just as expected. A less expected event was Cousin Clive coming to Wansdyke with our silk rug from Udaipur all washed and mended. I treated him to the first of the three King’s Arms sessions  - the landlord (under pressure financially as they all are, surprisingly so for such a popular and active village pub now knows me by name !). We were just about to tuck in when Clive gave me a Christmas present. I was taken aback first by the idea and secondly by what it was. He lives in Istanbul (appropriately for a rug specialist) and happened to come across what he thought was a 1920’s Shanghai embroidery of HMS Endevour ( a survey ship) that had probably be done for a member of the crew and somehow ended up in an Istanbul flea market. I was so taken aback I really didn’t know what to say !  It’s now at a picture framers in Devizes, awaiting my return.

But that’s still two months away and there’s an awful lot here waiting to be done, which I had better get on with right now. Happy New Year.