Singapore

As many of you London folk will know cause I've been waffling on aobut it for months to anyone who will listen, I'm away on a month-long 'working holiday'. The main reason for the trip was to surprise my Mum for her 60th birthday. Mum is awaiting an operation and can't travel. She's dying to come over to visit me so I figured well if Mohammad can't go the the mountain, the mountain must go to Mohammad. Or something like that.

My trip started out with me sitting at the airport enjoying a leisurely breakfast when my phone rings with a frantic Renee, my workmate, saying "Ange, we think Jack has let the cat out of the bag. Your Dad called here at work, and Jack yelled out to ask us what time your flight was. We're not sure if he heard though". I thought to myself, 'If you've ruined my surprise I'll blimmin' kill you Jack Harris!!!' My poor workmates were left with strict instructions to tell my parents I was in a meeting if they called, and Renee would text me and then I would call them back. It was just my bad fortune that Jack is a terrible ditz sometimes. I'm sure my workmates must have given him hell for it. So I called Dad and did damage control saying Jack was mistaken, I was off to the Flower Show but Jack thought I was going on holiday for the Bank Holiday weekend. Dad seemed to buy that. Oh the lies! I tell you, this surprise lark has made me into a terrible liar.

When I got on the plane I was almost struck dumb by the British guy sitting in front of me actually making conversation with me and offering everyone sweets. I swiftly deduced he was not from London. Wayne was in fact from Manchester, and it was his first time on a plane. His girlfriend had gone home to the middle of nowhere, Australia, to have their baby girl (born the previous day) and he was off to see them. So he was flying non-stop to Sydney, then flying to Brisbane where he would then take a five-hour bus ride. Yeah. Rather him than me. I also quickly made friends with the young man next to me, Li from Singapore, who had been on holiday in London. He gave me some good tips on what to do in Singapore, bless him.

I got into Singapore at 8am and sprang into action right away. I chucked my main luggage into storage and trundled off to Pasir Ris station where I met Simon, who was taking a guided tour of Changi, the site of the POW camp in WWII. Now I was raised watching Tenko and such things, so I was very interested in it. The beauty of the tour was that much of it was on a lovely air-conditioned coach, as Singapore was stinking hot.

What makes Changi interesting to me is that unlike most of the other Japanese-run POW camps, women and children were also interred there. There were huge ex-Pat populations in Singapore and Malaya when the war broke out, and that the Japanese invasion of South-East Asia would not be stopped by the might of the British Empire was unthinkable. So by the time everyone realised that they were in serious trouble, it was too late for many of the civilians. The Japanese sank many of the evacuation ships, so many of the women and children kept in these camps had already survived sinking ships and near-drowning. They also interred many native Singaporeans and people of Chinese descent, as many Chinese-Singaporeans had funded the effort to get rid of the Japanese when they invaded Manchuria. Simon's grandparents were among them.

The Japanese were merciless and all those who were at Changi suffered terrible hardships, even the children. But there are many stories of heroism, self-sacrifice, and especially of sisterhood amongst the women. There is little left of Changi Prison now - just a watchtower and a wall, but the Changi museum depicts all too well what life must have been like. When they weren't working, both the men and women ran 'universities' - if you had any knowledge about anything at all, you would run classes for your fellow prisoners. One man after the war applied for an engineering job and put down under 'Education', "Changi University". He got the job. Whether his employer had heard of Changi and sympathised with him, or just had no idea where Changi University was, we'll never know. Anyway, if you want to learn more - especially about what happened to the women I suggest watching the excellent movie "Paradise Road" which came out about 5 years ago.

After a quick nap at my hotel, I ventured forth to the Night Safari at Singapore Zoo. I'd seen it featured on a travel show a few years ago and thought 'If I ever get to Singapore I'm gonna do that'. It was excellent, made more so by the woman who hosted the show. After greeting the audience at length in six languages, she was off on her one-woman stand-up comedy routine. I got to see all sorts of nocturnal animals, some native to Singapore and some from all around the world, like wolves and owls. They even got a 'macho' guy up out of the audience. wrapped a boa constrictor around him, and pretended to run off. If that was me I think I would have died on the spot as I have a ridiculous fear of snakes.

The next day I went to Raffles, Clarke Quay, Chinatown and Little India which were great. I'm calling Singapore Asia 101: Asia for Beginners. It's so easy to find your way around as everyone speaks English and the signs are in English. Anyone who's never been to Asia before would love it, as it has the asian vibe without the obvious poverty or language difficulties. Public transport is amazing and the food is incredible. The most I paid for a meal was $6 Singapore dollars (about $4nz or 1pound 50 p)

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The Chelsea Flower Show

I recently had the good fortune to attend the Chelsea Flower Show with Fiona, Neil & Debbie. It was a lifelong dream to go - my Dad went as a child and met the Queen there - and it was well worth it. They'd been showing highlights of it on tv which helped me, as the creators of each garden went around explaining what they were trying to achieve with each garden and what things symbolised.

We went for the cheapest option, from 5:30pm - 8pm, which gave us enough time to have a good look around. Apparently it's a bit of a bun fight during the day. It's held in the grounds of the Chelsea Hospital, where the old veterans still wander about in their uniforms looking dashing. Well, as dashing as you can be when you're a geriatric. Around the outsides are stalls selling all manner of things garden-related: ornaments, furniture, gloves, wellies, and even art. Then the gardens themselves are clustered around the main pavillion. They were all supremely well-designed and must have taken loads of time to plan, and put together. The majority of them were in aid of some kind of charity like Cancer Trust or Amnesty International. In the main pavilion they had smaller gardens and the plants or blooms which I guess were judged individually. There was also flower-arranging (lots more men do this than you'd think...). I don't know how they could possibly judge the gardens as they were all spectacular.

England's Green & Pleasant Land

On Saturday, Debbie and I went on an 'Original London Walks' Tour to the Peak District. London Walks, as their name cleverly implies, do walking tours around London. Apart from being awesome value at £6, they are great because of the calibre of the guides, who are all 'qualified' and many of whom are actors or historians, so they know their stuff and how to spin a good yarn. At certain times of the year they do day trips out of London as well.

We left St Pancras (which should look amazing once the Eurostar renovations are complete) at 8:20am - knowing that Monday was a Bank Holiday so I could have a sleep-in was a comfort! Debbie & I quickly got chatting with Caralee, a very nice American who is here on a 6 month secondment with CNN. The shared interest of travel always proves to be a great ice-breaker. Our guides were Hilary and her husband David. Hilary used to teach in the Peak District and her enthusiasm for the area was very evident.

After a 2 hour train trip we got out at Chesterfield and hopped onto a coach, where we were driven through the countryside to the village of Eyam. We were very lucky, as due to the usually warm weather the bluebells were out in force. After the craziness of London it's always good for the soul to get out into the countryside, and this area of England is breathtaking. Lots of rolling hills, stone walls, picture-postcard villages, gamboling lambs. You get the picture. Bliss.

Here cometh the history lesson. The story of Eyam (pronounced eem) though not a nice one, is quite inspirational. During the 17th century the plague came to Britain, and was for the large part, mostly contained to that glorious den of iniquity, London. In September of 1665 the plague was brought to Eyam by fleas festering in a cart full of linens for the village tailor. When several people started succumbing to the disease, the village Rector William Mompesson, called the villagers to a meeting in a nearby dell that was a natural amphitheatre.

As the people of the time were all pretty clueless as to what was spreading the plague, the Rector asked the 800 villagers to make several important decisions. The first was that in order to avoid contamination or bad air, they would no longer meet in the church, but there in the dell. The second was to bury the dead not in the sacred ground of the church, but in their gardens and farms as yet another measure to avoid contamination. Such a thing was unheard of and I imagine had implications for your immortal soul back when only suicides were buried outside of the churchyard. You can still find these graves around Eyam on private property.

The third decision is the most amazing, and that was to quarantine themselves to stop the plague from spreading any further. By doing this the villagers knew that there was a good chance they would die. With the financial backing of a neighbouring aristocrat the villagers cut themselves off completely. We walked through some fields out to the boundary stone where provisions were left by the neighbouring villages, and you can still see the stone and it's holes where they would leave coins doused in vinegar as payment.

Hilary told us the story of a young girl who was in love with a man from a neighbouring village. Once a week she would sneak off to the dell to see him. They would simply stand about a field apart, and just wave at each other, to let him know that she was still alive and well. In April he turned up, and she was not there. He returned again and again, but she did not. When the quarantine was finally lifted a few months later, this young man was one of the first to enter Eyam. He found out that she and her entire family had died. Around 250, or roughly a third of the villagers died. I think that in our world where we humans do such terrible things to each other it's nice to be reminded that we are also capable of doing heroic and incredible acts of selflessness too.

On a bright note, Debbie and I had the best fish and chips we've had yet in England for lunch :- )

The reason we know so much about the plague in Eyam is interesting too. A few decades later there was a young new Rector and for some unknown reason, a baby was christened in the local pub. The Rector had a good time partying with the locals, and as a bit of a joke, was 'married' off to the pretty barmaid. Unfortunately for this chap, the Bishop found out and was furious. He told the Rector that he had made a mockery of the sancitity of marriage and had better now honour the marriage. The Rector can't have been too bothered by this as he and the barmaid went on to have 9 kids, but he was engaged to another young lady, and she was bothered! She sued him for breach of promise and won, and was therefore entitled to take all his things. To stop this, the Rector hit upon the cunning plan of moving into the church - as the baliffs couldn't take things from sacred ground - and lived there with his family for the rest of his life. As he couldn't leave the church much for fear of being arrested, he had a lot of time on his hands, and it was suggested to him that he write the history of what had happened in Eyam.

In the afternoon we headed off to Chatsworth, the ancestral home of the Duke of Devonshire (even though it's in Derbyshire...), whose resident Dowager Duchess is Deborah Mitford, perhaps one of the less controversial Mitford Girls. Even though she's in her nineties, she still sounds like a right character, and was known to serve people in the souvenir shop. Chatsworth was used as the location of Pemberly in the Keira Knightley version of Pride & Prejuidce. I kept my eyes peeled for Mr Darcy lookalikes, but they must have been away on holiday or something...

The estate is gob-smackingly awesome, with the gardens lanscaped by that genius Capability Brown. The gardens fell into disrepair over the centuries and so Joseph Paxton (called the busiest man in England) was hired to transform it. He was only a young man of 23, and his diary of his first day at Chatsworth goes something like this: "Arrived at Chatsworth at 4am, and finding no one about, immediately set out to inspect the grounds. Put the men to work at 6am. Breakfasted at 9am with the housekeeper and her niece. Fell in love with the niece and she with me. Began plans for the greenhouse. Thus ended my first morning at Chatsworth". Clearly an efficient young man!

The house is stunning and home to many priceless treasures, such as an original Rembrandt, and the coronation thrones of William and Mary. I have decided to move there, when I am not in my other home of Sandringham. As there's about 900 rooms at Chatsworth, I figure they won't notice me.

We ate London

Debbie, Skippy and I went to Eat London on Saturday. Various charities around London represented the city using food eg. the London Eye was a pizza, the Oxo tower was made of waffles. Then they gave everyone bits of it for free. Not too sure what bit of London we ate but it was pretty tasty.

Then we went to the Finchley Road Walkabout pub to watch the Aussies demolish Sri Lanka. I tried not to be bitter and twisted about it. Skippy made a bit of a spectacle of himself flirting with the laydees, and hi-fiving the guys.

Debbie & Skippy outside the National Gallery

Milan

Milan is an amazing city, though perhaps not the prettiest. The old part is beautiful and full of baroque and gothic buildings, but the majority of the city is fairly industrial looking. I went absolutely art-mad while I was there. I was positively saturated in art, you might say.
I pre-booked to see The Last Supper, which is necessary. I booked two weeks in advance and I still only just got in, as I got an 8:45am slot. The Last Supper is actually in what was the eating hall of a monastery attached to the Santa Maria Della Grazia. Really, it’s not until you actually see The Last Supper in person that you can truly appreciate the genius of Da Vinci, as it was painted to be viewed from the back of that room. The room is lit by two windows to the side of the painting, and he has painted it, to look as though the scene is lit by these windows - if you look closely at it, you will see that the left side is darker than the right side. He has also painted it to look as if Jesus and the Apostles are seated in a continuation of the room, like a trompe l’oeil.

From there I went to the Sforcezco Castle, the Duomo, the Basilica di Ambrogio shopping centre (home to Versace, Prada etc) which is possibly the loveliest shopping centre I have ever seen (and I have been to a lot in my lifetime, being a dedicated shopper). It was very posh and of course, priced way out of my league. I popped into La Scala, Milan's famous theatre, which is utterly gorgeous and glamorous. There was something rather dull on though (can't remember what though...) so I didn't go to a performance.

From there I went to the Pinoteca di Brera and saw more scenes of the annunciation than are perhaps strictly necessary, and the same amount of Madonna holding baby Jesus statues. The Brera is home to many great masterpieces though, by Raphael and Carravagio and is well worth the visit. Even the building itself is a work of art, a really lovely old Piazza.

The best bits of Milan are to be found off the beaten track, like most cities. You'll be walking down some scody little street and come across some store for a famous designer standing out amongst the other shops like a peacock amongst the pigeons, or some shop selling bits of glass for a mere few thousand euros. This is also where you will find other delights like the best gelato. I know cause I ate some. My lips are sealed as to it's exact location. Such things must be kept a secret.

Noel Gallagher Concert

Last night I went with Yvonne to the Noel Gallagher concert at the Royal Albert Hall. It was a fundraiser for Teenage Cancer Trust. What an awesome night!

Yvonne works for an accounting firm that handle the accounts for pretty much anyone who is big in the music industry. She does the accounts for Oasis, which is how she got us tickets - and we got to go backstage for the afterparty!!! Am I lucky or what!

We saw Shack, The View and Noel. Shack were pretty cool - they are on Noel's record label, which is why they are head-lining for him. They're quite mellow and kept busting out Zorro-esque spanish melodies in the middle of their songs. The View were great, and have earned themselves a new fan. They sing the song "Same Jeans" for those of you who don't know them. I don't know if they've hit NZ charts yet. They are really young, and their songs are very upbeat. They did this great song called Claudia, written by the lead singer, about how he felt at one with her, and she understood his feelings etc. It's really good love song. Only the song happens to be about his sister's dog!

Noel was amazing. It was all acoustic, and he did the Robert Palmer thing and had a line-up of beautiful women behind him playing violins and cellos. I've been a long-time fan of Oasis since their Supersonic days, and despite the often arrogant posturings of the Gallagher brothers, there's no denying the man has talent. He's not as good a vocalist as Liam, but he still has a strong voice, and knows how to command an audience. And he is a legend on the guitar.

I was also transfixed by his eyebrows. They really do look like Bert's from Sesame St...

Paul Weller was a surprise guest, and he and Noel did a rocking version of The Beatles "All You Need is Love". It really doesn't get much better than sitting in a packed out Royal Albert Hall singing along with Noel Gallagher and Paul Weller!

Noel played a lot of his new stuff, and also the good Oasis hits like Wonderwall and Don't Look Back In Anger. He had the crowd on their feet, and did two encores. We got to venture backstage into the labyrinth of the concert hall for the after party, so that was exciting too. Paul Weller even brushed past me in the corridor! I may never wash that jacket again :- ) Big thanks to Yvonne are in order, for letting me tag along.

Animals At War

I went to the Animals at War exhibit at the Imperial War Museum. It was excellent. Of course, being completely potty about animals, I went around the exhibit in tears! It looked at all the animals that have been used in warfare – like horses, dogs, pigeons, and even rats, pigs, camels, elephants and dolphins.

It was actually really fascinating – giant rats are used to sniff for mines. They have a much more acute sense of smell than dogs and cost a third of what it costs to train a dog. The cutest bit was a letter to Lord Kitchener from 3 children begging him to spare their pony from war service. He even wrote back to them, assuring them that he would!

They had lots of ‘decorated’ pigeons that carried messages in the world wars. My favourite dog was the one that some how followed his master to a French battlefield after he was shipped out from England. No one knows how that dog crossed the channel, but the story is verified as true by the RSPCA. Also, very moving are the accounts of people who gave up their dogs for service. Bob was lent to the US Army by his family, and received loads of medals. He was used to parachute out of planes – because he could parachute silently – and would round up the men on night jumps. Even ship cats were decorated – they were vital to stopping rats and mice from contaminating food supplies.

They also had stuff on the effect that war has on domestic animals. During the blitz, thousands of animals were injured and lost. The British govt had registers and issued posters for people to put up on their properties in case they were bombed, to alert the rescue teams about the number of people who were living there – on it there was also room to put whether you had a cat or a dog, and where their bed was located.

Mostly, I think what I liked the best was the accounts of how the animals just boosted the morale of the soldiers. A dog, Jennie, kept up the spirits of men in a Japanese POW camp, and there was a great picture of a ship’s mascot – a tiny kitten – reclining in a specially made hammock, with a big smirk on his face.

B-I-N-G-O!

On Saturday night Fiona, Neil, Mindy, Roy, Nikki, Jackie and I had a quintessentially British experience - we went to MeccaBingo down Kilburn High St. I've always wanted to go as it's such a British obssession and rather naff, a bit like Butlins Holiday camps.

It was great fun, and we all got really into it. I can see why people get addicted! We had a great laugh, but it was also rather sad and tragic, as there were loads of 'regulars' and people there by themselves. We all shared books so it was only about 6 quid each. Most of the people there looked to be on the poor side of the wealth scale and I hate to think of them gambling away pensions and savings. Gambling is insidious like that, it gives people an escape and hope. On the bright side, the building is absolutely gorgeous - it's an old vaudeville thatre and it's a crime that it is now a Bingo Hall.

Leanne: The Squirrel Whisperer

Lee and I went squirrel-seeking the other day. She has a hidden talent as a squirrel whisperer as you can see by these photos...

Richmond

Here's a couple of snaps of the Thames riverbank at Richmond. Richmond is a terribly posh suburb on the outskirts of London. It's great for shopping, and has a good farmer's market.

Well, I haven't updated this for ages so I'd better get up to speed with all the stuff I've done lately. This year started off well with a small soiree at NZ House, where we had prime seats for the fireworks display.

One of the best nights out I've had lately was for Fiona's birthday in January. We went to the 'singalong' Sound of Music. I've never seen so many dodgy-looking nuns in all my life!(Except maybe the time Ariane, Sophie and co dressed up as nuns...I myself was Marie Antoinette) There were people dressed in curtains, brown-paper packages tied up with string, bees (when the bee stings..), Captain Von Trapps, and of course, Marias. It was hosted by a drag queen, who went through our bag of props and gave us instructions as to what to do at the appropriate moment in the film. I never realised that the opening sequence of the Austrian alps was 4 mins long, but the time whizzed by as we made lots of barnyard noises!

Around my workplace

I went walkies the other day and took a few pictures of the Pall Mall/Whitehall area around NZ House. I am not tired of this place yet! There are so many gorgeous buildings, it's quite uplifting going for walks at lunchtime, althoughI'm looking forward to summer so we can have lunches in St James Park again.


The lovely Canadian Embassy















The Ugly New Zealand High Commission



Left: Navigation Below: The Admiralty Arch

The Somme

On September 15 I got to attend the 90th Anniversary Memorial Service of the Battle of the Somme in Longueval, France. That date was chosen as it was the date that the first New Zealand battalions joined the battle. The push they made that day only covered a few miles, but it was the largest amount of ground covered by any group of soldiers throughout the battle.

I got to go as a representative for DIA, and Ariane came along as a groupie. It was a long journey in a mini-van, but it was made up for by going through the chunnel (they loaded us onto the train in our van - that was weird, sitting in a van on a train!) and the service itself.

The Somme was literally a bloodbath, but today the memorial to our fallen soldiers is a beautiful patch of green in the middle of open fields, just down the road from the tiny village of Longueval. Amongst the attendees at the service was the NZ ambassador to France, the Australian, Indian, German and South African ambassadors to France, the head of the French Defence and his aides, and the Mayor of Longueval.

First, four NZ soldiers dressed in WWI uniform took up watch at end corner of the memorial. Local Veterans led the procession and a unit from the French Army provided the brass band. The procession was greeted by Jodie who sang a traditional Karakia and then we listened to (on cd) Kiri Te Kanawa singing Poi Kare Kare Ana. By now there wasn't a dry eye.

Many speeches were made, and schoolchildren from France and NZ laid flowers. One of the children read a letter from a NZ soldier who had fought at the Somme which described, in typical laid-back kiwi style, how horrific the fighting had been. He was still positive and ended the letter remarking how he couldn't wait to get back into the fray to help his friends. He was killed in battle not long after. (More tears from Angela.)

We were invited back to the Town Hall where the whole town had turned out, and we got to sample many delicious french tid-bits. Ariane provided my entertainment. On the bus with us was Major Steve Guerney and his lovely wife who had just arrived from NZ. It was their first visit to Europe so they wanted to stay on in France and go directly from the service to Paris. We got talking to the Head Advisor of the French Defence Force - who was absolutely charming - and when Ariane found he was headed back to Paris that night promptly asked him if he could give Steve and his wife a ride! He wasn't able to, but he was so gracious he found out about possible trains for them. And people say the French are rude...

It was a moving service and I was surprised at how well attended it was by Kiwis who were travelling in the area.

Open House London

On September 16-17 London had it's "Open House" weekend where buildings all over London open their doors for the public to come along and view them for free. Many are buildings that would not not normally be accessible to the public (as they are secure workplaces) or cost an admission price. There are so many different buildings that it was very overwhelming to choose what to see. In the end we left the organising of our 'itinerary' to Fiona, whose boring job left her with time on her hands. She was also our official photographer, so cheers for the pics Fi!

You have to be super-organised for this event as most of the popular buildings (like the Gherkin) require booking in advance. You can see things like Jimi Hendrix's house, kindergartens, synagogues, offices, stately homes - all kinds of architecture.

Cameron joined Fiona and I on the first day. Our first stop was The Foreign Office in Whitehall which is just gorgeous. It was made to impress dignitaries and has had many a grand soiree in its time. It has an impressive covered courtyard, a great hall (above) which has been restored, and a grand marble staircase (below). The restoration of the hall was amazing - in the 70's someone obviously decided 'hey, all that gorgeous decoration is a bit naff, so let's wallpaper over it with plain beige...' Yeah, good one. Naturally the colours and details are done justice in the pictures, but believe me, the 3 of us were walking around gob-smacked. Fiona is scheming to get a job there, so she can move into a broom cupboard and live there. Stay tuned.

It also provided Cameron and I endless silly photo opportunities (below).

We also looked in next door at the Treasury (too bad the mint wasn't open) which has an impressive open circular courtyard, and we tried to get into the HorseGuards in Westminster, but the queue was waaay too long. So we settled for harrassing the Guards instead.
The next day Fiona and I were joined by Yvonne (also a fabulous Kiwi, from Tauranga), and we headed off to explore the 'city' area around Bank. Our first stop was Victoria House where we got to see the amazing Art Deco ballroom and bar in the basement.


Yvonne and I in Victoria House - Art Deco Bar

The bar has been recently refurbished so it's modern art deco, and it's very stylish. If we all get rich, that's where we will hold our parties.

After that it was off to The Guildhall (above) - apart from being a functioning guildhall, it is also home to an art gallery and the remains of a roman coliseum. It was long thought that London must have had a coliseum during Roman rule, and it was recently uncovered under the Guildhall when they went to renovate the basement. Quite an apt spot for it. The Guildhall is also home to London's clock museum (who knew, eh?!).

We then went off to Fleet Street to see the Hollywood-glitz of the foyer of the Daily Express building. It is a glittering example of art deco. You may infer that I am a fan. I'm so pleased we got to see it, as it's the sort of place you'd never go into normally.

We rounded that off with a visit to the Cheshire Cheese pub down the road (revamped in 1667! ), a favourite haunt of Dickens. It's a funny old pub, with lots of gloomy little rooms. And lots of hot barmen!