Once again it was time for our dinner. It was Victor’s turn but unfortunately because of a medical condition he couldn’t host or even turn up. So Mildred took over and we had our dinner at Shang Palace.
Decent food, good service and good conversation. Just a good general uncontroversial conversation. But it is obvious that with age, more people are facing medical issues. Benson needs an operation, Jen Howe had one and Victor is undergoing treatment. Well one cannot fight age.
Yesterday was his birthday. He turned 67. As he had nothing planned for the entire day, I said I would take him out for lunch.
He wanted to eat at Erode Amman Mess …. Again. I said let’s go somewhere with a nicer ambience to celebrate a birthday but he insisted that’s what he wanted. And so we did have lunch there followed by coffee at Madras Woodlands.
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I used to do much more of this. This request came from Yew Tee and since it was to be in English and Mandarin, I asked my colleague Alina to be the speaker. They were initially supposed to get a doctor to be the CI but that didn’t materialise and so i had to find them a CI at short notice.
Well attended talk last Sunday. 60 signed up and 60 attended. Mostly people in their 50s and above. They had so many questions and there was much enthusiasm. And many people signed up for the free CI session for next Sunday. And Yew Tee had so many young volunteers helping out that day.
So happy to be able to help doing these community events.
I was invited to lunch at short notice by the US Ambassador. It was either Saturday or Sunday and it was to be at his residence.
It was a lovely drive up to his house. It is a huge quiet house with well kept gardens. He gave me a short tour of the house and the various memorabilia on the walls. There were original and replicas of documents on when the US first arrived in Singapore. In 1834, John Balestier arrived in Singapore as a merchant and then he became the first US Council General in 1836.
The Ambassador has an Indian cook and we had dosas and idlis. Good home cooked Indian food. We spoke, without handphones nearby. Interesting. And he is a wonderful person and so easy to talk to and we have quite a number of common interests.
We then had coffee on the veranda overlooking the greenery. All the napkins have the US Emblem on it. I was so tickled by that!
A very lovely Saturday lunch!
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Attended this dinner last night, courtesy of Steven Seow, who’s wife Charlotte was the organising chair for this dinner. Held at the Conrad Hotel, the former Regent Hotel.
A lovely dinner. The President came. The Speaker, SPS Shawn Hwang and MP Hamid Razak were there. I spent a bit of time chatting with all of them.
My table was also interesting. David Chong was there as was Alfred Dodwell. He told me that my father taught him Tamil in secondary school and that I was his law tutor in the University. What a small world!
The dinner was nice. Good emcee.
The only hiccup was that one of the guests at the table was someone my client had sued in 2003. One of my biggest cases at the time and led to what I am today in so many ways. I didn’t say anything to him and I am sure he recognised me.
Yesterday we had lunch. One of the rare weekends he wasn’t traveling. He arranged it at So Good Seafood Restaurant at Ngee Ann. And since he was supposed to be on a diet, we had dim sum.
Never understand how dim sum can be a light meal. You end up eating more because they are small items.
We chatted about ACS International, the Tengah issue and the latest medical innovations. Good advice from him. Don’t try things if you don’t need to!
I had breakfast with MOS Dinesh Vasu at rather short notice on Wednesday. He picked Madras Woodlands.
We both had appams and bru coffee and spent a good one and a half hour chatting.
Good discussion on our current state of the Indian community and how more can be done to uplift our community. I believe in the long term he will be the unofficial Minister in charge of Indian affairs and so am happy to note that he is sound and well grounded and knows exactly what is wrong and what needs to be fixed. Now it is finding the political will to get this done.
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i attended this last Saturday at the Ritz Carlton. This occasion is always good to meet up with friends from the Indian community.
The event was made special by the presence of the PM. He seemed to be livelier and happier than he was the day before, so that was good.
I was hoping that we would make some policy statements re the Indian community but unfortunately he didn’t. Still it was good talking to him.
Food was good and the event ended promptly by 915pm soon after PM left.
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I came back from Hk early for this appointment ceremony. This was the appointment ceremony for the 10th council of the NWCDC. And the PM was the GOH.
It was at the Marina Bay Cruise Center, a first for our CDC. I didn’t have much time to see the place as I was busy talking and taking pictures with my friends there.
A simple ceremony but the PM seemed distracted and tired for some reason. He gave a speech but didn’t otherwise interact with people much. Guess he must have a lot of his mind and plate.
I think I became a councilor in 2003 and by the end of the 3 year term, I would have served 26 years!! How time flies.
I am now in the lounge of the HK airport awaiting my flight.
I spent 5 nights in HK. I came primarily to see the HK jewellery fair, which I have heard of but never attended before.
The fair was massive and I am sure over the 2 full days I was there, I only covered about 20% of the booths. I recognised many people there whom I have met over the years at various Singapore shows and shops.
HK looks and feels the same, even after 7 years. Nothing seems to have changed. It is still a busy city, but I do feel that it is the mainland Chinese who are propping up large parts of their economy. They are the biggest shoppers and they can be seen patronizing all their higher-end restaurants and hotels. Even at the jewellery fair, a large number of the booths were by Chinese brands and many of the buyers were Chinese.
Lots of old people around in HK but fortunately they are mobile and seem able to handle themselves. And just like Singapore, or worse, people seem to be walking around staring into their phones, flipping videos or watching dramas or playing games.
Food is good here and cheaper than Singapore. Service is generally good everywhere.
I took a day trip to Shenzhen and that was an eye opener. Just as how HK people go there in large numbers for the cheaper food and services, Chinese people come to HK to shop and eat.
The HK airport is superb. Overall a good experience even after all these years.
