What? A way to leave...

Dear Marms

Yesterday in many ways was a blur. What with the leaving cupcake and the recently rediscovered leaving card presented around the island at work along with two other colleagues; and the WITS do that I arrived rather late to, today will be enacted in survival mode. The two events bear nothing in common ( in energy expended and fun had) but I mention them because they happen to happen on the same day.

I awoke full of beans as always this morning but now things have settled to an even keel. Muffin and I have already been round the block. The coffee was been downed and fortunately that black elixir has now hit the spot.

Ah, yes, where was I? I turned up to party time around 10:30 after leaving class at speed and for a while felt like I shouldn't be there as everyone of those tennis-playing ladies of Singapore were in full swing and I still had work in my head. This is a very strange feeling  - like you have probably gatecrashed the wrong event. Moreover, it was the polar opposite of what I had just left.

Worst of all, these end of season dos are themed and everyone was in a black dress and masked. The others had spent hours getting dolled up and I had just run out of the office... so many contrasts.   I felt a bit like a penguin using genetic imprinting to find my team. This was not easy... Hundreds of black outfits - all tennis players and wearing masks. And.. all were dancing! ALL!!

It didn't take long to slip into party mode and even though this wasn't about ME as so many of my recent forays have been, I felt that it really was a big moment in my going away from sunny Singapore. At parties like these where the physical energy lifts off the roof, I feel very much at home, introverted as I am. I know some of you party girls will read this...It was a great night...really. I'll see some of you  later today, no doubt.

Tennis has been a big part of my time here and I reckon I must have played in the first ever WITS season when it was quite a small event. Now there is an industry that has grown to support this tennis habit - coaching - clothing - partying - sponsoring. It is BIG beyond belief. This time it was organised by "Queen" Linda and her committee. I can't imagine that my new life will have the same pizzazz - not in Milton Keynes, anyway.

So Marmite, when I was cleaning the house and dancing with the mop, little did you know it was serious training for party time.

Miss you loads, Muffin sends his love too.

XXX

A fine line - vagrancy and slumming it

Dear Marmite

You have experienced this yourself. For the first few months of your life you were a street dog - a wanderer with no home. I am in that situation now. I actually find it a very comfortable  lifestyle choice. I am currently sharing, or as the Singaporeans say, "putting up" at Muffin's house which is a landed property facing a National Park. As houses go in Singapore, I have definitely landed on my feet and Iam certainly not slumming it. It is a quiet area, away from the city and very Zen.

What is more, there are some really old properties around here - single storey dwellings that might well date back to the 50s where the owners are into guerilla gardening - rambutans, bananas, figs, herbs all vie for a space on the verges outside these little homes. I just love walking Muffin and checking out what is there.

In contrast  not far from here are the big concrete edifces built for the masses. I think about 80% of homes in Singapore are HDBs. These are government-built highrise blocks for Singaporeans. It was in Toa Payoh yesterday - probably the oldest of the satellite towns full of HDBs - that I was asked whether I lived nearby. I didn't want to explain that Muffin had kindly let me stay with him so I said sort off and that  I'm taking care of a friend's dog. To which the reply was, "Chinese?" For the life of me, I couldn't think of ethnic background of my friends so I said golden retriever. Aaaah, you dog lover... was the response. I knew at that moment I was labelled not as a dog lover but an eccentric Ang Mo.

I am not the only eccentric Ang Mo in the eyes of locals. I think many of us carry this badge of honour. Last night at Palais Margy was another last for me and I mention it here because there was a good deal of eccentricity around the table.. saying goodbye to old friends over a Sri Lakan curry. Margy's place is on the grand side and about as far removed from mass housing as you could imagine. When I am back in Britain, I can only dream of sitting out under the night sky in November. Thanks for a lovely evening ladies!

On a serious note, as I am of no fixed abode, form filling is a bit of a problem. Do I put my future address - my last address where I lived for 14 years or the temporary addresses where I currently am...  ? Any thoughts... ? is there a place for vagrants like me in this modern world where you have to prove yourself to banks and visa people?
The biggest problem is that companies promise to send a cheque to the address you have moved from. So I am awaiting a cheque from Chubb as a refund for insurance on a place they know I have moved out of..  I wonder whether they get that Idon't live there any more and that they will send it to the temporary place I asked them to.. Watch this space!

See you Sunday...

Love you loads...

XXX

Potentially My last ever working week!

Dear Marms

How odd is that? The thought that I may never work again makes me feel a bit weird. It is not that I loved everything about working but it certainly gives a structure to your life and in many ways it is the reason to get up and get going. What I will miss is the banter and support from friends and colleagues - guys, I'll miss you all loads; certainly the ginger chocolates and even Karl's puns, perhaps. All in all it has been a good place to be just because of the people.

Friday is my last working day and I imagine myself leaving my lanyard behind, entering the lift on the fourth floor - I call that floor the Magic Kingdom because pretty strange things happen up there -  carrying a large bag filled with the detritus currently spread across my desk and in my locker and simply disappearing. Whoa.. THAT is going to be a big moment.

Fortunately, I will jumping into a taxi and whizzing off to the British Club for tennis so that moment will be gone and like a roller coaster I will be on that cusp of disappearing into the unknown.

I could go on at length about all the bad things that happen at work; most of them comedic and definitely worthy of a British sitcom but somehow bad things don't stick in my memory as being that bad. They really are just bizzarely funny happenings. I expect one day when I am back in England talking about the old times with people who shared my life out here in Singapore - we'll have tears of laughter rolling down our cheeks and not those from the frustrations we all endured at work.

You must remember some of those times when sitting on the floor we'd chat about how bad the day had been and somehow you made good sense of it all and in the end life never seemed to be that bad.. Thank you for that, Marms - you have always been a good listener - one of the best, in fact.

The Watershed Moment

Dear, dear Marmite

Late last night I had an epiphany. I realised that I had turned a corner... a really BIG one... and I really was ready for leaving. The house is sorted, tax organised, money sorted and most of my trip planned. More to the point my head is slowly clearing the fugue of all that has gone before.

What is more, I realised that everyone seated around that table at Picotin on the Fairways Golf course in the heart of the jungle would be heading in the same direction as me sooner or later. In fact, we were actually making plans to meet up on the other side. Just think, all nine of us could actually be seated round a table somewhere in the UK one year from now. Obviously the conditions would be different - it would be much colder for a start - but possible.

I still feel sad that you won't be around to share the fun but you will be there in spirit and we'll never ever forget you, that's for sure. I have got other things to look forward to. I have long lost friends who have contacted me through Facebook and it will be so nice to see them again. That is one of the good things about FB - it keeps you connected and I realise I am connected to people across five continents - letter writing could never have done that for me. Thank you MZ.

I have also planted seeds for a Singapore reunion weekend in Old Blighty. The wine will be considerably cheaper... there is a high tax on alcohol over in Singapore plus sterling is worth diddly squat so it will seem an absolute bargain for a while, I am sure there will be a few glasses raised to the old times when we get together.

My family is back in the UK.. Hopefully my kids - a little older - will be a little wiser! I have been teasing Danielle about her buying a house with a granny flat for her old Mum... Sadly that has been met with derision. Only joking... remember Danielle, I love you especially when you are asleep.

I also have an EX who is now happily entwined with his new squeeze, "She who cannot be named". It would possibly be wise to give them both a wide berth. We don't want to deflate joy I currently feel about returning, do we?

Connections are so important.. love you loads, Marms. You are the best!!

A New Man in My Life

Dear Marms

I have fallen for another and You can call me fickle or anything you want. I know you would love him too and I hope that you will get to meet him before I leave.

Muffin is much younger than you and still quite daft. He is very affectionate and even though we have been together for just three days, I think we have really bonded. We go for a brisk early morning walk and he is very calm and walks very much like you do... only faster! AND... he gets excited when I pick the lead up. WOW!

I am staying in Old Upper Thompson Road right next to another National Park so in many ways it is just like Dairy Farm. You hear the birds chattering and there are monkeys all around. Staying here, you wouldn't believe that this is a very crowded small island.

Lower Peirce Reservoir is one of the oldest in Singapore. The park has recently been upgraded and there are 900m of  easily accessible wooden walkways where dogs are not allowed. It was named after the engineer Robert Peirce who was in Singapore around the turn of the twentieth century. It like many other places have been named after the people who contributed to the development of this beautiful island.

NParks do a great job looking after the flora and fauna, but to be honest, from my experience, you could put a stick in the ground and it would grow. What will I miss when I leave? Definitely the lush forests and the tropical sounds - money can't buy that sort of beauty.

Hoping to see you soon.

Love

XXX

Hugs all round

Dear Marmite

It was so lovely to see you again on Saturday. Being at my Dairy Farm Leaving Party was so appropriate and special. Remember the thousands of times we wandered around the estate on our "draggies" and how so many people addressed you by name but barely gave me a nod. You were definitely the famous half of our partnership.

The party was the best ever and it was Melanie who organised it. I was blown away by the whole thing and I even had a song sang to me from my bicycle. How clever is that? Thank you, Manicam. You have a great talent.

If we sat down and talked about where we came from to all end up in that room, I wouldn't be surprised if there was DNA from Vikings to Aborigines present in that one room. What is wrong with our world when literally the whole world could be represented in one room and party happily together because of their differences and not inspte of them? My life is so much richer for having you all as friends. That is one reason I love Dairy Farm... long may it stand!

The big take-away, which brings a touch of sadness, is the thought that there are some people that I probably will never see again and that at that moment they were all in the same room. For me, that is the big bad bit about leaving. There is, however,  a "leaving book" with a collection of other people's memories of me that I will take back to the UK and probably use as a CV. Although it has been done with humour, I think something like that would be a more accurate record than a serious CV for anyone wanting employment and it would be more entertaining to read for sure.

I see myself as basically an introvert. I don't seek out large groups and feel comfortable with my own company. Strangely the photo-record of the evening tells a very different story!

Oh boy, I will smile long and often about that night. Thank you for coming, Marms and Rita..

Love XXX

Halfwits and Drongos

Dear Marms

We are fortunate to have none of these people among our friends but there are a lot of them around and I suspect they are evenly spread throughout the world.

In the time I have been sorting out my return to the UK I have come across an inordinate amount of these people. Let me give you  just a few examples - I wanted to travel through Russia and for that I needed a visa. The agents were very helpful until  I came across a snag - I realised I wouldn't be entering Russia within 30 days of leaving Singapore where I would have to get my visa sorted. I emailed my agent and guess what? They sent the same information again but didn't answer my question. It took two more emails before I got an answer.  I imagine that travel agents earn their keep because they are experts in their field. If I have a query, they should be the "go-to" people. This is a wrong asumption.

Number two - This was a robot answering service who called herself Sarah. When I wanted to book an appointment to have my water and electricity cut she was the only person I could get to speak to. Sadly, she didn't understand and it took 2 hours to get a human to actually help... I thought AI was the future but this one was not "intelligent". I swear that if I ever meet Sarah, i'll punch her. I spoke to three different people but each time Sarah interrupted and told me my problem was sorted and then cut the conversation so I had to start again. TWO HOURS of my life  wasted trying to get a robot answering serivce to comprehend!

I could go on ad nauseum... I won't. The memories are painful and I must treat these encounters as learning experiences. My advice to the world... employ people who can read emails and sort out systems that respond to more than one issue... Is that too much to ask?

Now I have had my rant all is well with the worls and  I probably won't punch Sarah as it would hurt my knuckles..

Hugs abound when I see you later

Love U