A little bit of India, amongst other things.......

"Sarries, Sarries.....", that's what I can hear through my headphones as I start typing. The curtain raiser to the 2010-11 Aviva Premiership season. Saracens v London Irish. I'm listening online via BBC Three Counties Radio. Seems a little unlikely on a Saturday night, around 7000 miles from Twickenham, but there you go. I dare-say there will be updates throughout the blog update, apologies in advance!
I can't believe my previous update was last Monday, the time is starting to disappear quite rapidly all of a sudden. And that's a good thing. Nothing worse than it dragging, especially when you're living here. Plenty of things to report anyway. 
Firstly, the drilling (touching a large chunk of wood) seems to have ceased. We still have the chaps trawling up and down in the lifts with wheelbarrows full of goodness knows what! But they're nice guys and always say hello (to the kids) and are at pains to get out of the way (even when it's extremely inconvenient for them). But it would appear that the waterproofing of the roof on Tower B has hit a quiet phase, and long may it last.

The other day I decided, with some fortitude, that I was going to find postage stamps. I know that sounds a bit dramatic, but the fact is that a) we need stamps b) I have failed previously and c) we live here and we are going to need stamps. I don't know if I'm missing something obvious, but it ain't that easy! So, I know that I need either a Post Office (obviously) or a SAM. Given that there are no Post Offices on the horizon then the obvious choice is a SAM (you need to look at the previous link for what they are and do).  There are two close by (a 10-15 minute walk with buggy). No problem, take a walk, ask when I can't find it and hey presto! There it is. No problem. Type in what I need on the touch screen (two airmail, one local). $2.46 all told. How do I pay? Cash? No. OK. Debit card, of course. No. NETS only. A what? NETS (please look at this link too, I really can't be bothered to explain). OK, I don't have one of those, where can I get one? Now, at this point, my phone really earns it's stars. Type it all into Google. A list of outlets, none of which are anywhere near me, plus there are other indeterminate outlets that sell them (i.e. just guess). Right, I have a hunch that there might be a place in the MRT station at Buona Vista, a short hop away from where I am now. And it also has a SAM. How could I go wrong? Well, my hunch was right, I did find a shop selling a NET cashcard (plus sweeties for the kids who are now showing signs of incredulity at my single minded pursuit of stamps). I purchase one with the promise of stamps looming large. A SAM machine, as promised, as I exit the shop. Here we go. NET card doesn't go in, try again. Out of order. But of course. No matter, I know where the other one is, let's head back there. It's only a ten minute walk (when you aren't on the wrong side of the roadworks with no crossing in sight). Twenty minutes later I have it in my sights. Not only that but I have entered my postage needs and am at the checkout screen. Bang, it crashes. Wait a couple of minutes to reset. Bang, crash again! So, there you go, despite my best efforts (and one and a half hours of walking later), I am still stampless. "insert rude word here"
Half time - London Irish 6 Saracens 10. Couple of tries by Sarries but no Glen Jackson to convert so only 10 points and Irish are down to 14 men for ten minutes. C'mon Sarries, less of the silly pens.
Tuesday saw me meet up with a follower of my blog called Natasha. She is a proprietor of a rather fine site called www.natashabailie.com. She sells vintage clothing don't ya know and very nice it is too (I had never met nor spoken to Natasha before Tuesday except via email so that plug was entirely out of good will). It turns out that her other half was over in Singapore being interviewed for a job (yes, they paid flight, bed and board. Some kinda interview. Must remember to get one), and I thought she might like to meet up over a coffee to discuss the ins-and-outs of relocation (like I'm some sort of expert). Amazingly, she agreed to meet some random blogger (against her various friend's better judgement I'm sure). Coffee was pushing it to be honest, with two young children in tow, so we met in the already frequented Botanic Gardens to keep the little darlings entertained and under control. The fact that Claire, my teacher widow partner in crime, had also agreed to come along made the odds significantly better. Hurrah! This made it three adults to two children. Nothing could go wrong. And surprisingly nothing did! A very nice afternoon shared by all, albeit with some ice cream incentives (that the kids also enjoyed). Claire and Natasha found a shared interest in 50's clothing (I opted out of that conversation) and we whiled away the afternoon in a very convivial fashion. So it turns out that Natasha and hubby will, indeed, be moving to Singapore in the New Year. Congratulations and welcome! We look forward to our next meet up (New Years Eve sounds like an apt date).

Today, we ventured into Little India. It's a must see and I loved it. As did the kids and T. The smell of spices, beautiful garlands and Bhangra in the background was enough to make me feel at home right away. Indeed, it didn't take too long to immerse myself in a spice shop. Even D, notoriously fastidious about his food, couldn't resist the opportunity to smell touch and taste what was on offer. Not long afterwards, we found ourselves in the Tekka Food Centre, eating chicken curry with D scoffing a fresh chapati. After recent revelations about him eating my spicy noodles, I'm starting to suspect we were living in the wrong country altogether for his epicurean preferences. This was followed by the kids making friends with the locals, mostly by being a) Western b) and cute c) downright cheeky! We had a lovely chat with a Singaporean of Indian descent who as far as we could work out had six children, five grandchildren and an indeterminate amount of great-grandchildren. He was 78.... or 79 depending on which part of the conversation you had caught up with. Happy days!


BTW Sarries lost. Usual seasons start then!