Elizabeth Gilbert Eat Pray Love

The first day I was in Singapore I helped these Indian guys unpack all the boxes that had been shipped from Hong-Kong. All Hesters books included. One book caught my eye and I stole it and read it. It's called Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert and its a pretty good read. It deals with her life from the age of about 30 when she's going through a traumatic, painful and financially disasterous divorce and then into another painful and disasterous relationship with someone called David who she both loves and hates in equal measure. So down on her luck and bumping along the bottom she gets a publishing advance which enables her to follow her heart and she sets out on a journey to find herself. She moves alone to Rome where she rents a small flat and learns Italian for four months. This is kind of the eat part of the book because she loves Italian food and she puts on weight. She dvours the food and imbibes the language. She then goes to an Ashram in India where she eats vegetarian food looses weight and meditates and prays. The pray part of the book. She is brutally honest and self-deprecating and you can't help but travel with her and walk in her foot-steps. Blog-fans know my views on you-know-who so I won't discus that here. There isn't enough of that in the book to ruin it for me so suffice to say that she is an exquisite writer. All sorts of stuff gets explored. Her sponge like personality absorbs everything and anything and you never know what your going to learn or who you are going to meet on the next page or in the next chapter. After Inda she goes to another country beginning with the letter I.....Indonesia. She goes to Bali where two years previously an old mystic medicine man had invited her to join him and live with him and his family in Uben a small isolated village among the rice paddy fields. She meditates, thinks, contemplates and grapples with her demons She's obviously attractive to men. That comes out also in the book. In Bali she meets a 55 year old Brazilian man who manges to seduce her and end her months of post-divorce celibacy. The love part of the book and on return to Leechpool I couldn't resist Googling her if you'll excuse the expression. And she's not unattractive. She's forty now and I do recommend that you go onto the TED Lectures site and listen to her give an 18 minute speech on "creative genius". It's an engaging and entertaining way to spend 18 minutes of your life.
A little Zen saying for you (which wasn't in the book but I offer it anyway while we're discussing things a little ashram and a little mystic) when you are lost and afraid and full of anquish and what am I doing? or what should I be doing? remember this little nugget. "The Spring comes and the grass grows by itself"
That reminds me! A chap here last week was taken into the Royal Gwent Hospital. He'd eaten daffodil bulbs thinking they were onions. He's in quite a bad way evidently but doctors say he'll be out in the Spring!

Pioneers cabin

In previous blogs I have suggested that the Aba's go-getting far-reaching exploits have been similar to the early pioneers and settlers in the wild west. So here are a couple of pics of their little house on the prairie so to speak; their equivalent of a log cabin don't you think? Only in the wild east instead. Moo-Moo slept in her big-girls bed for the first time Friday night and she was so excited that she stayed awake talking to her teddy for an hour or so.

Try this pair granddad

I love the new apartment!!!!!! and I love being a granddad!!!!

New Apartment

The new apartment has a swimming pool and sun-bathing area. Don't worry about the clouds here.  I think Hester said that the temperature in Singapore never drops below 25 degrees C. So this particular blog is for all my blog-fans shivering in sub-zero Blighty right now.

OK THIS IS FOR PATSY!!!!!

OK THIS IS FOR PATSY!!
Evidently Patsy bought a stacking box set of things for Moo-Moo. Here she is pictured next to said stacking column....almost as tall as she is.

ULTRA-CHIC

Elodie manufactured this photograph. She had a toy hair-dressing set and strangely there were a number of different coloured spec frames. (Don't ask) I was given frame after frame to try on. I was finally allowed to wear these green-framed ultra-chic pair after some considerable pontification. I hope you like the pose.

Singapore Granite

Singapore is near the equator and while I was there it was around 30 degrees C every day. Bit of a rainy season Oct/Nov/Dec and we had a few thunder storms some evenings. Back here in Leechpool it's nearer 0 degrees C and I'm freezing my butt off. It's enough to freeze the b***s off a brass monkey and I am cold. The top two pictures here show the triple tower blocks next to the Marine Bay and you can see the curious boat-cum-space-ship connecting the tops. It's truly sublime and magnificent and they are full grown trees that you can see on the roof garden. I visited the Gardens By the Bay next to this structure. Acres and acres of tropical planting with dragon-fly lakes and cultural gardens of many nationalities.....my favourites would be Indian, Chinese and Indonesian. I also visited the rain-forest National Park of Bhukit Timah and I was pleased to see that the mountain was a Granitic Basalt Outcrop. Like a higher Dartmoor and Exmoor except populated with buttressed hardwoods, and the bio-diversity of the trees was simply staggering. Hundreds of different species vying for space. A different tree every few yards. It annoyed me to see the information tags on so many trees because every tag explained in what way the particular tree was useful to mankind. This tree for match-boxes, this tree for match-sticks, this tree for furniture, this tree for tool handles and fence posts and sadly the tempines tree so useful for window frames and door frames that there are hardly any remaining on the island of Singapore. There are many roads in Singapore named after this tree and there is also an MRT station named Tampines, slight different spelling but celebrating the contribution this wonderful tree has made to the developing Singapore.
Oh yes....I said that I was pleased about the centre of the island being a Basaltic/Granitic Basolith. It means that the volcanic interior of the earths core has risen up and cooled to make a solid dense massive block of stone/rock which essentially means that you won't get an earth-quake. Krakatoa isn't far away......and we all know what happened there. Indonesia was struck pretty bad by the Tsunami and serves it right for being in an unstable area.....but lucky Singapore is just that. Lucky. It's also the reason why monstrous tower blocks can be happily constructed on such firm footings. And of course you have the granite for building colonial palaces and Raffles Hotels and walls and terraces like at Fort Canning. The massive quarry in Hindhede National Park, now filled with water like a huge Alpine lake, bears testimony to the usefulness of this magnificent material.

Moo-Moo and the camera.

Elodie liked to go into my room and unpack my back-pack. She particularly liked getting my camera out and removing it from it's cover. She would press the little ON button to make the lens push out. She would invariably hold it upside down and back to front but would always then say "Smile!" She then wanted to remove the battery and put it in the charger. Both tasks were very tricky for a two year old. The camera is small and you need finger-nail dexterity to slide the tiny cover  to remove the battery and then the battery has to be entered into the charger the right way round and the right way up. She knew when she was successful because the yellow light would come on and we would both cheer and jump for joy. So about four times a day she would say "Granddad's room.....granddads room, camera, battery" and she would grab my hand and drag me into my room where I would pretend to be unable to find the camera. I would rummage around in my bag and then say "Aaahhh found it!" only to bring out a pen, mobile phone or guide book. She knew I was teasing but she enjoyed the game anyway. I miss her.

Elodie Rosie

Moo-Moo became more and more obsessed with my camera during my stay.

Singapore Photos

When I went to Hong Kong I had my camera with me but stupidly didn't take any pics and on my return Nuch gave me serious hard times. She couldn't believe that I didn't take one photo!!! So I made a bigger effort this time. This photo was taken in the serviced apartment where they are staying until they can find somewhere to rent on a more permanent basis. It's called Great World City Serviced Apartments. There's a swimming pool and a kiddies play area. The basement of the complex is a shopping mall on three floors. Views from the 34th Floor are pretty amazing!!!

Family Photo

So I'm back!! Seriously jet-lagged. Didn't sleep a wink on the 13 hour flight but hey!! It was worth it. Thanks so much to all those pictured here for making my Singapore trip such a wondeful experience. This picture was needed for the family season ticket to Singapore Zoo. Of which more later. My jet-lag is as nothing compared to parental sleep deprivation due to baby and toddler attention seeking behaviour throughout the night and then sometimes into the day as well. I have to give Hester and Chris top marks for doing what they do and hanging in there and toughing things out the way they do. My time there just flew by like I was on a magic carpet ride. I was obviously driven hard because they think I have DIY skills. So, for instance, some days I had to change a plug or buy a light bulb before I was let loose to explore the many wonders that Singapore has to offer. Of which more later. I was dragged round any number of amazing restaurants every evening. The Indian Banana Leaf, Indo-Chili, Arab Street Egyptian, Blue Ginger Singaporean, Zion Street Hawker Centre and we had a most wonderful Thai meal at a place where the table was too small for all the delectable dishes that Chris ordered. Life doesn't get much tougher than that...believe me.
Anyway...Thank-You Thank-You....Hester and Chris. For inviting me out at such a difficult transitional time as you move to and settle into your new environment.

ericspottery

Pioneer Life

Most people opt for the easy life
go to the local supermarket for what they need
look no further than the end of their nose
stay local
be comforted by what's familiar
play safe
hedge your bets

this world is is inhabited with immigrants
incomers
go-getters
mostly despised
and hated
and ridiculed

Once we went bi-pedal
and walked out of Africa
we continued to
walk this planet

and now people continue to
take risks
to walk away from
what was home
to move location
to seek something new
and worthy and worthwhile

and all you
sitting there
watching the One Show on BBC
followed by East Enders
yeah
you with your remote control

supermarket at arms length

fill your petrol tank
down the road.

and bitch about this
and bitch about that

But you get out there
get out there
and hike the pioneer trail
Go on buddy
try it why don't you?

You probably don't have the balls!!!!!!!

Early morning early November Leechpool

click on image to enlarge