our day at the Restu Ilahi orphanage

I am not going to say much about our special day yesterday, am leaving it up to Stephenie and Euvah to express it all in their own words. So please read their blogs on their visit to the Restu Ilahi orphanage in Batam.

Or to view one of the video clips from earlier this year of a Christian Group here in Singapore that also visited the orphanage .... click here

Euvah took the above image of one of the little girls at the orphanage.

I just wanted to pack her into my bag and take her home.

thanks Euvah for this very special photo

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Christmas Street Scene - Orchard Road, Singapore

Christmas in Singapore is a magical time for everyone. You sense a great build-up as early as mid-November. A magical event no visitor - or local resident - should miss is the annual Orchard Road Christmas Light-up.

Now in its 26th year, the Orchard Road Christmas Light-up remains as enchanting as ever - fairy lights, multi-coloured ornaments, up-lit 15m tall Christmas trees, Singaporeans and tourists in uninhibited singing and dancing.

Events on Orchard Road

Free Stage Performances by Local and Foreign Church Groups.

• Songs, Dances, Drama along Orchard Road
  
  
  • 7-11pm, 18-25 Dec 09 at:
    
    
    • Orchard Walkway
      (outside Wisma Atria & Ngee Ann City)
      
      
    • Plaza Singapore
      
      
• Christmas Day Grand Concert
  
  
  • Performances and spontaneous carolling on Orchard Road.
    
    
  • The section of Orchard Road between Scotts Road and Paragon Shopping Centre will be closed to traffic for this concert.
  
  
  
  
  E N J O Y !!
  
  
  
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together forever - David and Barbara Kolle

Today - Monday November 23 2009 - David Kolle passed away. 

12 mths to the day since his wife Barbara died. You can read my blog posting on the death of my friend Barbara if you click HERE.

and with John a few years ago ..... and as I write this John is unaware of Davids death as he is inflight - Mumbai to Singapore - he will also be saddened to hear of David passing.

Together forever 

- Barbara and David Kolle - 

dear friends of Leone and John Fabre

RIP

XXXXX

the NorthEastern Monsoon has arrived ........

on my blog site I have a bit about the Weather in Singapore...

tropical; hot, humid, rainy; two distinct monsoon seasons - 

Northeastern monsoon (December to March)
Southwestern monsoon (June to September)
inter-monsoon - frequent afternoon and early evening thunderstorms.

what it says is that we are to expect the NorthEastern Monsoon between December and March.... but for those that were in Singapore last Thursday you will KNOW that it has arrived early!!!

• Bukit Timah canal burst its banks for the first time in years

• Was six times the intensity of an average shower here!

•  one of the worst floods in recent years.

•  dumped enough water into the Bukit Timah Canal alone to fill 115 Olympic-size swimming pool. 

•  floodwaters were knee-deep

THE Bukit Timah canal burst its banks for the first time in years on Thursday, unable to contain the afternoon's downpour. As a result, two stretches of Bukit Timah Road - from Coronation Road to Third Avenue and from Wilby Road to Blackmore Road - were underwater in one of the worst floods in recent years.

The storm, six times the intensity of an average shower here, drenched the Bukit Timah area with close to half a month's worth of rain in about half an hour, said the PUB, the national water agency.

Between 1.20pm and 1.50pm alone, 92mm of rain fell. The total amount of rainfall logged in the area was 110mm - accounting for 43 per cent of the average monthly rainfall for November.

The downpour dumped enough water to fill 115 Olympic-size swimming pools into the Bukit Timah canal, overwhelming it.

At their height, the floodwaters were knee-deep, throwing traffic along Bukit Timah into chaos. The waters subsided after 50 minutes, but traffic tailbacks petered out only at 3.15pm, said the Land Transport Authority.

the above info from the Singapore Straits website.

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an Afternoon Indulgence

The original Lawrys opened in Beverly Hills (USA) in 1938... there are others now, including one in Singapore. I have heard good and bad reports on the restaurant, but all I can say is that I was very happy with the staff, the food and the ambience when I went there this afternoon with three of my friends for an "Afternoon Indulgence".

Cost was $12.00 with the inevitable plus plus!!

But good value we thought.

here are some images of today.....

 

 

most foods are served at table by experienced staff

 

you get to choose one 'main dish' and one dessert dish ......... my suggestion would be to choose the dessert of the day ..... as my Devonshire Tea and Scones was not quite what I expected !!

I was warned they were small, but I didn't think 'small' meant "bite size"!

but we did enjoy the afternoon and I arrived home just after 6.00pm!

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The eye of the pelican....

Photo take at Jurong Bird Park in Singapore - Sunday December 2 2007.

Jurong Bird Park:
www.birdpark.com.sg/


about Pelican Cove:
www.birdpark.com.sg/attractions/pelicancove.html


What an odd collection of contradictions the pelican is! It has an enormous bill but can nimbly use it, and its heavy walk gives way to superb flight and graceful swimming. Come see some of nature's most curious birds at Pelican Cove.

The Jurong BirdPark brings you the world's most complete collection of pelicans in the world at Pelican Cove, where all 7 species of pelicans can be found.

Highlights of Pelican Cove

World's FIRST underwater viewing gallery for pelicans, diving for their fish during feeding time.

Stroll along the boardwalk that brings you up-close and personal to the birds .

Have fun finding out more about these big birds from the interactive signages .

Marvel at the different fishing techniques of these master 'fisherbirds'. .

Unique venue for evening incentive events .

Take the air-conditioned Panorail that dips to water level for a rare ride through a pelican colony .

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Light House at Dryad Point, Bella Bella, British Columbia. Canada

This is for my new friend - Skip Empey - who lives in Wareham, Massachusetts (USA) and is a keen Pharologist (the study of Lighthouses) but he has many interests which not only includes include Lighthouses, but American History 1620 to 1800, Topical Philately, Photography and Travel.

Not to mention he is a BB King fan. :-)

We (Janine and myself) were on board the M/V Columbia, heading south to Bellingham, Washington. (USA) on Wednesday July 16 2008 at 5.00pm when we saw the Dryad Point Lighthouse.

Temperature ranged between 10 - 17 cel ( 50 - 64 f)

Dryad Point Light House

Lighthouses of the Pacific North West





..

must be a cruise ship in town ......

There has to be a  cruise ship in port!

the only time you would see such a sight ....... a large contingent of caucasians such as this riding the rickshaws!

the couple above look rather nervous, well certainly not 'comfortable', or is it because they have so much clothing on? Long pants, shoes and socks ????

 

 

 

 

but what a sight to behold.

for the love of Architecture .......

In my past life I was a draftsperson and those that know me will know that I love architecture - any type of building or structure that has some character to it - I enjoy studying the design, the quirky bits that you can find if you look hard enough and am always impressed by the workmanship that has gone into building it.

Freeways and bridges are amazing ... I could stand there all day watching them build a bridge or freeway..

yes to some people I am crazy! So what's new?

If you also enjoy anything to do with architecture - take a wander through my set on flickr titled ARCHITECTURE.

I wonder where I would be today had I continued down that pathway?

Probably still standing on the bridge.......

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St Andrews Cathedral - Singapore

Today - Monday November 16 - Euvah and myself spent some time wandering in and around St Andrew's Cathedral here in Singapore.

We have been before and it is just as beautiful today as when I saw it last.

These two images are of the same window ..... one from the inside and one from the outside

Saint Andrew's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Singapore, the country's largest cathedral. It is located near City Hall MRT Interchange in the Downtown Core, within the Central Area in Singapore's central business district. It is the Cathedral church of the Anglican Diocese of Singapore and the mother church of her 26 parishes and more than 55 congregations here. The logo of the Cathedral is the St Andrew's Cross. The Year 2006 marks the 150th Anniversary of the St Andrew's Church Mission since 1856.

Designed by George Drumgoole Coleman, the original Saint Andrew's Church was built from 1835 to 1836. The second Church of Saint Andrew was designed by John Turnbull Thomson and built in circa 1842. Rumours of unhappy spirits and damage caused by two lightning strikes in 1845 and 1849 resulted in its closure in 1852 and subsequent demolition in 1855.

Colonel Ronald MacPherson, the Executive Engineer and Superintendent of convicts, designed the new church. To cut costs, Indian convict labour was used, as it was for many buildings of the day. The Right Reverend Daniel Wilson, Lord Bishop of Calcutta, laid the foundation stone on 4 March 1856, and the first service was held on 1 October 1861. The Right Reverend G.E.L. Cotton, who succeeded Daniel Wilson, had the honour of consecrating the cathedral on 25 January 1862. In 1869, it was transferred from the jurisdiction of Calcutta to the Diocese of Labuan and Sarawak and, in 1870, Archdeacon John Alleyne Beckles consecrated it as the Cathedral Church of the United Diocese.

Saint Andrew's Cathedral is owned by the Synod of the Diocese of Singapore, and is a centre for Singapore's Anglican Mission. In 1856, Saint Andrew's Mission launched the first Anglican evangelical outreach in Singapore. The first Anglican bishop, The Right Reverend J. Ferguson-Davie was appointed in 1909.

In 1942, shortly before the fall of Singapore to the Japanese, the cathedral served as an emergency hospital. An archaeological excavation was held on its grounds in 2004 by the National University of Singapore.

Saint Andrew's Cathedral was gazetted as a national monument on 6 July 1973.

(the new settings for blogger is VERY frustrating...... the page keeps re formatting!!)

The following images are of the Cathedral externally..... a very dull day unfortunately..... but at least you can see the architecture, that is just beautiful. 

These two websites will give you further information.

WIKIPEDIA

St ANDREWS CATHEDRAL - Singapore

The Esplanade Theater - contemporary architecture.

The unique architectural design has been said to have an appearance similar to either a durian (a tropical fruit) or the eyes of a fly. Many Singaporeans casually refer to the Esplanade as "The Durian".

read article here in SINGAPOREARCHITECT - an online magazine about the architects for this great building.




The Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay is a waterside building located on six hectares of waterfront land alongside Marina Bay near the mouth of the Singapore River, purpose-built to be the centre for performing arts for the island nation of Singapore. Taking its name from the nearby Esplanade, it contains a 1,600 seat concert hall and a 2,000 seat theatre for the performing arts.

The library@esplanade is located on the third floor of the building. There are outdoor performing centres, and retail and food space at the Esplanade Mall. There is an outdoor open space on the fourth floor of the building.

The Esplanade occupies the site of the former "Satay Club", a popular food haunt for Singaporeans which had been discontinued prior to the Esplanade's construction. Currently, the "Satay Club" has been re-allocated next to Sembawang Shopping Center which is now demolished.

Officially opened on October 12, 2002, Esplanade was developed at a cost of SGD 600 million.

On 5 July 2005, the opening ceremony of the 117th IOC Session was staged in the Esplanade, featuring a 30-minute long performance aimed at showcasing Singapore's multi-cultural heritage to her international audience.


at The Esplanade Theatre there is a concert hall .... a Theatre ..... a Recital Studio ..... a Theatre Studio ..... a library ..... and outdoor venues, just to name a few.....