My Very Own Self
"Sugar and spice and everything nice, My Dearly Beloved and then Some
Nanyang My Tagboard, the Scribble-Scribe
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|  || Sunday, January 28, 2007 || Sun, 24th Dec - Fri, 29th DecDays 110 -115: London (2) Day 4 – Christmas Eve. Should like to give rose-tinted account of first Christmas Eve spent in London, but unfortunately none as such to record. Christmas Eve very much like other days: enjoyable, happy, but lacking in magic. Dimly remember a distant time when Christmas was heralded with much excitement. Put general apathy down to age, and discovery that Father Christmas does not exist. Borough Market: nice fudge and burgers. Did not dare to try the beef. Settle for pork instead. Tower Bridge, Tower of London, St Paul’s, London Bridge, Big Ben, London Eye and Westminster Abbey. Midnight Service at St James’.        [Top Row: Borough Market, and food; Bottom Row: Tower Bridge from a Distance, Calling Home, Me on London Bridge, Lumpy and Ben] Day 5 – Christmas Day. In rare move of great tact, leave XM and Pam to themselves and going instead on hike with 3 Scouts (Hui Mun, Lillian’s Yin Wei and Magician). Tube and all London transportation on holiday, so tracked 3 hours there-and-back to friend’s (Xela) girlfriend’s house for recreational and intellectual game of Mahjong. Was once Girl Guide in my salad days. Remember why I abandoned Guides in the first place. Fortunately did not get lost. Passed Hyde Park and Albert and Victoria Museum. Fleeting thought that Queen Victoria must have been very fond of husband crosses mind upon sight of Monument to Price Albert. Execute myself brilliantly during Mahjong game. Christmas lunch of Jaffa Cakes, bite of mince pie and chocolate; Christmas dinner Korean Spicy Instant noodles, Baklava and Turkish Delight. Can vaguely understand Edmund’s betrayal of siblings and Aslan, but in no way condone act. Feel that this is an excellent lesson to learn on Christmas Day.  Day 6 – Boxing Day shopping. Short meet-up with the Maniams. The She-Maniam has lost weight and is not fat. Buy 3 albums, 3 DVDs and 1 DVD collection. Glad that father is a continent away and will not be near when he sees bill, which anyway was charged to my card.  Lunch at Misato, then Buckingham Palace. David and Gangwei return from Italy and had to share a bed, since I took up one of theirs. Am very much thankful and here express in a manner most solemn, my deep gratitude. Day 7 – Sin Day, which like all Sin Days, was lovely. Fact that Sin is my Paris Accommodation and that I am begging her to bring me along to Austria and persuading her into a trip to Sarlat have no bearing on previous announcement. Hare and Tortoise, Persephone Books (closed), Portabello Market for Hummingbird Bakery (closed) and Oxfam (closed). Shocking discovery that Sin lives very near to me.    Mary Poppins on Westend. Disney movie of last-mentioned has long been old personal favorite. Can recite and sing to word and tune every song. Pleasantly surprised to find that musical surpasses movie. Will return some day. Day 8 – More shopping along Oxford Street in the morning then ephemeral meeting with Dawn-ie in evening. For unknown reason, Dawn-ie had decided to walk all around London early that day, lugging luggage around. Very perplexed and wonder why I hang out with her as a friend.  Day 9 – Final day in London. Lunch at Hare and Tortoise and return to my beloved Persephone Books from whence I buy 3 titles. Return to Passfield Hall. Find that other friend has returned from Amsterdam. Very glad to see him as friend to perform function of luggage porter to the Tube Station. Friend did not do so in the end. Very doubtful now of the concept of Scout’s Honour. End entry with reiteration that David and Gangwei and XM and Pam are all EXCELLENT hosts, and that I have greatly enjoyed my stay at Passfield Hall and hope to return one day. Amitiés, Lumpy et Zihua. || Saturday, January 20, 2007 || Thurs, 21st Dec - Sat, 23rd DecDays 107 - 115: London Passfield Hall If you should ever have to go to London, and are in search of lodging, may I heartily recommend Passfield Hall. Run by a Singaporean couple:  who also provides facial services,  and co-owned by another Singaporean pair,   Passfield Hall is a subsidiary of the world-renown London School of Economics. Centrally located (nearest Tube station Euston a five minute stroll away, and walking distance from West End), recently renovated as well as reasonably priced (as I booked early, my stay was nearly free), Passfield Hall is the accommodation of your dreams! Very friendly and warm service, which includes free tour guide facilities! Anyway, my London trip (Query: do people read or even care about finest details of one’s personal itinerary? Quick reflection leads to conclusion that they probably do not; but unshakeable impulse to scribe faithful record impels continuation nevertheless): Day 1 - Arrived late due to Freezing Fog (a true English welcome: frigidity). Was nevertheless provided with an escort service from Euston station. (Note to ex-classmates: XM has greatly improved!). Coincidentally, this was the day that JK Rowling released the title of her 7th book. Did not find this out until very much later. Reproach self for not having kept up better with Current Events. Day 2 - Drury Lane (Home to the Muffin Man), Convent Gardens, Ben’s Cookies (should have got more), Leiceister Square (or Chinatown) and lunch with Jo and Shuwen and friends at Wong Kei (famous Chinatown restaurant run by a triad!!). Introduction to that infamous Müller Yogurt. Hui Mun, Lilian and Yinwei and Magician arrive. Passfield hall turned into Refugee Camp with 7 under one room in all.       Day 3 - Long, long walk to Portobello Market because we got off at the wrong stop. Could have been vexing but lovely scenery of quaint English architecture generally pleasing coolness of weather make walk very enjoyable. Passed a house in which George Orwell once lived. Did not go in or even think of going in. There’s the good of University education nowadays. Portobello Market very lovely. Started with the Antique Street. XM and Pam not too keen, but was in my personal haven. Will return, when (and if ever rich) to furnish my house with knickknacks and such as found there.    Pass the Hummingbird Bakery. Pam recalls that Shuwen greatly recommended its cupcakes. Stop to procure some. We settle on cupcake luxuriously named “Red Velvet”. Do not regret, except that we did not get more. Resolve to return later on for second helpings. View quaint shop full of Russian dolls. Ponder whether to buy a Penguin set for sibling, who in youth was nicknamed “Penguin”. Sibling once cried about nickname, but has since been reconciled. Counsel from XM assures me that boys do not appreciate Russian dolls so abandon idea. Reach Food Area. Obvious lift in spirits on the part of XM and Pam. Spot an Oxfam. Brief hope of entering and spotting row after row of rare Chalet School titles as various other people on my Chalet School Book Group seem to do. Hope quickly crumbles upon entry, so comfort myself with a William book, Stories and Sketches by Charles Dickens and The Diary of a Provincial Lady, book whose style I am emulating while writing this entry. Very pleased with my investment thus far. Am greatly enjoying last-mentioned title.       Very happy to see so much food. Invest in Cherries and Blackberries I later enjoy. XM and Pam spot White Chocolate Digestives being sold for a song. They buy 2 boxes and spend the later days regretting not having purchased more. Lunch at Four Seasons at Bayswater. Try that Duck that is apparently Very Famous. Not disappointed. Duck very delicious and was a Culinary Revelation. Happily overdosed on Duck, eating both fat and skin. Feel effects of this later in the night when I feel Very Sick. Am apparently incapable of taking too much rich food. Proceed to Harrods. Much impressed by the food section and gaze longingly at displays. Buy Krispy Kremes. They are good. Spend time wandering around Harrods. Layout of Harrods could be improved. We were rather lost. Pam and I go in search of the Harrod’s Bear, which we later find has been sold and shipped to Russia, and wrapping him was a Nightmare.    Fish and Chips from Harry Ramsden’s for dinner. Effects from an over-rich lunch kick in. Greasy odour of fish and fries was too much for me to handle so gave share up to XM. Enjoy Marks & Spencer’s Minestrone Soup instead at Passfield Hall. Amitiés, Lumpy et Zihua. || Tuesday, January 09, 2007 || Day 125: Chez MoiWell I’m back. It’s been a great 3 weeks. Have visited 3 lovely places, met with some of my favourite boys, many of my favourite girls and eaten a lot of my favourite food. Life is good! Quick contrast of the 3 cities I’ve visited: They’re like 3 different women I think. Each differently dressed, each of different temperament but each nevertheless equally charming. Paris is elegant of course – what else can Paris be? Paris, with her wide streets, refined tastes in food and architecture, is elegant and graceful and carries herself with aplomb. Hers is an old-world beauty; the beauty of tradition, splendour and finery. Venice on her part is no less charming. She is of a less sophisticated charm than Paris, I would like to say, but that describes her badly; the splendour and finery that define Paris are so alien to her being that it seems ridiculous to describe her as not being that. I suppose the best I can do is to say that Venice is a true-and-true Italian beauty. Rustic, dazzling and exotic, with rawness that gives one the feeling that she is not quite of-this-earth. The allure of fire and spirit and colour. London. London is understated, and generally goes about in grey. This colour may or may not suit her, but London has worn this shade for years and as far as I can tell, does not plan to change her wardrobe anytime soon so my opinion does not matter. Of the three, I find London the hardest to read. She is courteous and polite, but keep her distance with you. It’s that thing we read so much about: the English reserve. Alright. Enough prose for the day. Will eventually blog about my trip but it will be a few days before that happens. Contrary to what All My Family (father, mother, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins including) seems to think, I do have to Study. May I add that the appearance I give of Not Studying at all is not true at all. I do study, and very much, thank you. I just don’t blog about it, hence this False Impression. Oh and Lumpy, the dear little elephant, sends his regards: 
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