Chinese ghost festival

Just out the back of Plaza Singapura I came across this makeshift shrine erected by the staff of one of the shops in that mall. They were good enough to tell me what it meant to them. For one month every year ghosts or souls of the departed are invited to return to earth and have fun. The ghosts include deceased family so I guess this is a manifestation of what is called ancestor worship. Shrines are erected and paper money and incense is burned in most housing estates across Singapore. But it's only on the 1st 15th and 30th day of the lunar calendar month that the bigger festivities happen so today these people are making offerings and saying prayers for, according to one older man, such things as safety at work.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.4.5

Heritagefest

Useful things I learned @ Singapore's cultural festival today:
1. how to carve a straight line in a piece of wood
2. the difference between Devanagari and Nepali script
3. the best eavesdropping spots in a Peranakan house
4. why Farquar went to back to Scotland disappointed
5. how to say rub your hands together in Fijian

Published with Blogger-droid v1.4.5

Gardening competition

Which wins the prize for the most weird and wonderful plant - the bright flowers in Fort Canning Park or the grim looking plants on sale at the cluster of garden centres on Thomson Road?

The first is a Carnivorous Pitcher Plant - I am equally fascinated and repulsed by it, but you have to admire it's cunning to trap insects into a pool of liquid rather than the boring old way of just taking nutrients from the soil.


The second is a Lobster Claw Heliconia, a relative of the banana, it provides the main source of nectar for humming birds and a very stylish tent for the minuscule Honduran white bat.


Third and finally, Stag's Horn Ferns (circled in red), which grow on trees or in very little soil, propagate by producing spores and 'offsets' i.e. bits that break off the mother plant, and have been around since the dinosaurs.

Scentstational

Not my joke...this is actually called a Scentstation...proudly shown off by the man who fills it every morning with different chopped up cuttings of herbs and plants. I do think it is a cool idea but I can't help feeling a little irony in the fact that the plants are taken from the gardens surrounding it, and displayed on the 14th century walk and the spice garden (see pix below) where you can blatantly smell them from the foot path in any case...still nice that someone takes an interest in our sensorial experience.

Graffiti the Singapore way!

It is graffiti Jim but not as we know it. This particular art work was the product of a competition from the national planning authority, the URA. It caused a stir when the police were inundated with calls to report the criminal offence which it would normally be (with upto 3 years in jail and 8 lashes of the cane as witnessed recently by a Swiss national who painted on a train). There's some debate in the local media as to whether the URA's project encourages 'unsanctioned graffiti' or acts as a release given the shortage of space for urban art or graffiti (and ending up spraying on the skate park floors).

There was a graffiti mural at the Night Festival a couple of weeks back which was absolutely drenched with paint ...I could not get near it for the kids ... and some digital and non-digital street art ...see pix of projections and a very funny 'slow' SMS board below...I will look out for more urban art ... formal and informal ...

Mosquito misting in Singapore

No, that strange looking man with a huge gun IS your friend! This is what mosquito control looks like in Singapore. Dengue fever is the commonest danger from mosquitoes, but vast quantities of insecticides (chlorinated hydrocarbons, organophosphates etc.) are sprayed every week around residential blocks, car parks etc.. Of course the best risk control is to avoid getting bitten, i.e. staying away from dank places where they like to breed. They spread dengue dever (aka breakbone fever because of the accompanying joint and muscle pains) from one infected person to another. Unlike mosquitoes that spread malaria which like to bite in the evening, these ones are not fussy and bite any time of day. They are found elsewhere in the world, and apparently are on the increase along the Texas-Mexico border.

more street sitting

After my last street sitting post I began to wonder if I was exaggerating. I mean people all over the world sit on streets depending on the circumstances and many of the big groups may just have to do it - Philippina maids on the traditional Sunday off, Indian labourers waiting for the a bus back from a night out in Little India ... but the more I see in Singapore the more I am convinced people here are just have a better relationship with the ground than we do in Europe. This picture shows the Saturday night crowd in Dhoby Ghaut in quite an upmarket part of town. Most people are sitting on the ground as it is shaped perfectly for sitting with an arc of steps, but look at the group of men right in the centre of this shot - one of them has chosen to sit in front of the others on the ground. It's warm dry and clean so I suppose why wouldn't he.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.4.5