The Passing of the Iron Lady

As someone who studied in the UK during the Thatcher years, I have utmost respect and admiration for her - a lady in what was essentially a man's world; determined; driven; and ultimately someone who led Britain out of despondency, industrial strife and economic stagnation into a country which was safe, relatively prosperous and attractive to live and work in. 

Internationally, she had recognised in Mikhail Gorbachev a leader who had the potential to change the Soviet Union and in so do, helped see an end to the Cold War.

So it was with some sorrow that I heard last week on 8 Apr  2013 about the death of Margaret Thatcher, after many years of decline.  The Iron Lady, who led her country, had left the world.  To mark this event, here are some extracts from the many obituaries about her: :

The BBC says:

She was, above all, that rare thing, a conviction politician who was prepared to stand by those convictions for good or ill.

The New York Times summarises these convictions:

But by the time she left office, the principles known as Thatcherism - the belief that economic freedom and individual liberty are interdependent, that personal responsibility and hard work are the only ways to national prosperity, and that the free-market democracies must stand firm against aggression - had won many disciples.  Even some of her strongest critics accorded her a grudging respect.

As does the Economist:

Mrs Thatcher believed that societies have to encourage and reward the risk-takers, the entrepreneurs, who alone create the wealth without which governments cannot do anything, let alone help the weak. A country can prosper only by encouraging people to save and to spend no more than they earn; profligacy (and even worse, borrowing) was her road to perdition. The essence of Thatcherism was a strong state and a free economy.

She was a divisive politician, with many from her own party ultimately turning against her.  But, as she herself said:

I always cheer up immensely if an attack is particularly wounding because I think, well, if they attack one personally, it means they have not a single political argument left.

Find more great quotes by Margaret Thatcher here.

Ultimately, however, her funeral went off in a smooth and dignified manner.  After a week where perhaps too much attention was given to the noisy and angry voices, at the end, the street was lined with mourners, who wanted to pay their last respects to a woman who had transformed Britain:

This was a day, in short, of tributes untarnished. A day when, to a far greater degree than expected, abuse was overcome by respect, violence by decency, and hatred by love.

-Telegraph 

 Goodbye, Mrs Thatcher.

Miniature world

My Terrarium. A Miniature Garden in a larger one.

Terrarium, a photo by Taking5 on Flickr.

Every time I go to the Singapore Garden Festival, I spend some time at the Bazaar area looking at the terraria on sale and wondering whether this is the year I will buy one. But my mother would discourage me, commenting unfavourably on the prices and saying that if I left it in her hands, she could produce a terrarium which was just as nice.

The high prices as well as my mother's comments put me off the purchase and I am glad that I held off now.

Of course, my mother never got round to making a terrarium for me. But her brother (my uncle) got into his terrarium phase and started putting a number of little gardens together. He made this charming little terrarium for me. I find it really quite fascinating - this tiny self-contained world of plants, soil, water and air. The plants happily photosynthesise, releasing their oxygen by day and their carbon dioxide by night. The water evaporates, condenses on the sides of the container and trickles back in. Tiny little mites are observed crawling on the leaves... I've decided to just let them be.

Best of all, I don't need to do anything to maintain it, aside from occasionally opening the container when the condensation is a little excessive or to remove a dead leaf (not that there are many).

To thank my uncle I bought him some replacement containers ... for him to create another garden to brighten someone else's day.

Waxing philosophical - it's cat's play

Books lead you, one to another.  Last month, I read "Swerve: How the World Became Modern" by Stephen Greenblatt.  Swerve tells the tail of a Florentine named Poggio Braccionlini, who rose from being an ordinary clerk to become a Papal Secretary.  Unfortunately the Pope Poggio served was subsequently forced to retire (history lesson for me - learning about the period when there was more than one Pope) and Poggio lost his job.  He decided to pursue his passion to locate long-lost classical texts and in 1417, found a copy of the poem De Rerum Natura, by the Roman poet-philosopher Lucretius, in a German monastery.  Lucretius was a disciple of the Greek philosopher Epicurus and as such, the poem expounds on the Epicurean philosophy (pursuit of pleasure as the highest good in life) and lots more besides.  The book's title is supposed to denote the point at which the western world moved away from the gloomy Stoicism which characterised the Middle Ages to experience the re-birth of a more liberal, enlightened age - also known as the Renaissance.  Many reviewers (see here, and here) do not quite agree with the fundamental thesis that the discovery of this poem caused such a fundamental shift in western philosophy.  I am not going to attempt my own assessment.  But the book goes on to recount how this poem influenced other influential readers and thinkers who have influenced many others in their turn - people like Botticelli (he who painted the Birth of Venus, La Primavera, etc), Thomas Jefferson (American President and author of the US Declaration of Independence), and Michel de Montaigne.

Michel de Montaigne?  Who is he, you may well ask?  I had never heard of him till reading Swerve (I am no philosophy student).  But it so happened that I went to the library soon after finishing Swerve and was randomly browsing along a particular shelf when I came across  a book: "When I am playing with my cat, how do I know she is not playing with me: Montaigne and being in touch with life" by Saul Frampton.  Instantly struck by the profundity (or maybe pro-felinity) of that simple question, I borrowed the book.

Ariel: I'm afraid she is definitely playing with me

Thus, serendipitously, surreptitiously, I came across Montaigne.  Turns out that Montaigne is a French philosopher, a famed essayist.   Montaigne's philosophical approach derived from his experiences (or essais, or "tastes"  of life).  He drew from what he experienced through his senses to make observations about life, and living.  In this, he differs considerably from Descartes, who some 30 years after Montaigne, would take a far more rationalist approach  ("I think, therefore I am"). 

Frampton's book helps us understand Montaigne and his essays. Born in 1533, to a Gascon nobleman, Montaigne would encounter sorrow and death (of his father, best friend, brother and first daughter) within a short period and in 1570, decided to retire to his estate to think gloomy thoughts.  However, his reflections during this period led him to realise that life, at the end, was well worth experiencing and living, with humility and grace.  He asks himself, "what do I know?" and comes to realise that there are no absolutes, that life cannot be lived in black and white.

Which brings us to the famous feline quotation.  When I am playing with my cat, how do I know she is not playing with me?  In this particular essay, Montaigne challenges man's presumption of superiority over the natural world around him.  (See further explanation here.) Perceptive indeed, given that our actions have shown that whilst we can certainly change the climate, we don't know how to change it back. 

Frampton's book is reviewed here and here and here.  One reviewer feel that he has not captured the richness of Montaigne's work.  But others say that it is a good introduction- to give the reader a taste, an "essais" of Michel de Montaigne.  Which is what he has done, at least for me.  I find I like Montaigne.  I like his openess, his humility, his warmth and humanity.  I like that he plays with cats.  I find I want to read more about him.  Books lead you, one to another.

For more on Montaigne, you can try reading his essays.  I also came across this series of posts from the Guardian.  Looks like this Renaissance philosopher still has much to teach the modern world.

Son of Singapore - Sculptor Ng Eng Teng

Look Down, a photo by Taking5 on Flickr.

Look down and see the beggars at your feet
Look down and show some mercy if you can
Look down and see the sweepings of the street
Look down, look down
Upon your fellow man!

Poverty, hunger - the struggle to live and for human dignity have always been themes which resonate through the centuries- in the Paris of Victor Hugo, in Singapore in the 1960s and today.   The movie version of Les Miserables is currently showing here in Singapore..  I've decided not to watch it (because I have certain expectations as to how it should be sung), but could not help be reminded of this song from the musical when I visited the NUS Museum's exhibition on "Sculpting Life: The Ng Eng Teng Collection".  Ng's interest in social commentory is seen in this relief  - where the viewer is truly looking down upon the subjects (interesting use of foreshortening in a sculpture as opposed to a painting). 

Freedom Child

Fortunately, Ng has a far broader range of subjects, including much more cheerful subjects.  He is  well known for his public sculptures (eg "Wealth" and "Contentment", which used to be in Plaza Singapura) and his "Mother and Child" series.  My JC had a large relief along the two walls leading to its front lobby.  He even did some ceramics!

Here at the museum, one of the sculptures I really liked was this one, entitled "Freedom Child" .  This particular sculpture embodies, to me, contentment, playfulness, freedom, joy.  Such a contrast to "Look Down"!

A temporary exhibition on Ng currently running at the Museum is  "106 Joo Chiat Place: Ng Eng Teng House". This is just a single room, with sculptures from Ng Eng Teng's house/studio, and memorabilia about the sculptor.  The house, which was originally the home of Ng's father and family, became his studio and that of other artists. It was subsequently sold to a developer and has since been demolished.  The owner invited Singaporeans to come and take a piece of the house - for memory collectors, I guess.  For more information, do read the Museum blog post on the exhibition.  The exhibition runs until 3 February 2013

Look here for some more of my photos from the Ng Eng Teng exhibition, including mini "Freedom children".

The New Inhabitant

Testing out the new Blogger mobile! Seems quite fun and friendly.

Anyway, am pleased to note that we have a new inhabitant. Ariel joined us about two months ago. She was probably about 6-9 months old at the time. She gets on well with the big boys (that's Orlando in the background of the photo), and is generally quite gentle (no scratching or biting).

Ariel was actually found my neighbor down the road, but his father did not appreciate cats in the house. So, we had to take her in, the poor little thing. Put her up for adopt ion,but although there were a number of enquiries, none of them resulted in adoption. So, it looks like we are keeping her!

It has been a while since we had a young female in the house. And, we were quite punctual in neutering Casey. So we were not prepared for dealing with a little cat in heat. Not prepared for the mewling and crying. Neither were the big boys (all neutered) prepared for her badgering them all the time. Imagine our worry when she disappeared from the back garden just one week before her operation was scheduled. Fortunately we found her the next day, roaming the street outside. She is now safely neutered and the vet reassured us that all will be well.

So welcome to Ariel, our pretty, dainty little feline!

Amongst Flowers and Clouds

After seeing the Gardens from above and at night,  I managed to pay a longer visit to the Gardens by the Bay, one of Singapore's latest attractions - and an attempt to bring to Singapore the flora of the tropical highlands and of the cool and dry deserts and of the Mediterranean.

Baobab Forest

The Gardens are indeed a special place, with the towering supertrees and the cooled conservatories - ie the Flower Dome and Cloud Forest - helping it win the World Building of the Year award.  I spent a happy few hours walking through them, admiring and photographing the plantlife within.

Roses in Bloom

I started with the Flower Dome, walking through the succulents and the baobab forest..  It is truly an accomplishment to bring these exotic plants here - with their bloated trunks and tiny leaves, the baobab is well suited towards life in a dry climate where every drop is precious.

But I particularly loved the Mediterranean garden, where soft-petalled roses and other flowering blooms transported me to a happy day  spent in a garden of a stately home by Lake Maggiore in the Italian lakes.  The ancient olive trees in one corner, sheltering the bright flowers blooming at its base reminded me of my visit to Assisi, where the olive trees grew in the grounds of our hotel..

Mountain Magic

I then explored the Cloud Forest - which was truly a happy partnership between engineering and botany.  The lofty man-made mountain dominated the dome, with its waterfall cascading down one side.  Indeed, it reminded me of my visit to Doi Inthanon, near Chiang Mai not so long ago except that the winding mountain trails here were metal bridges extending out of the sides of the "mountain", enabling even the wheelchair-bound to experience life amongst the clouds. The sides of the mountain are covered with plants, with orchids and other flowers of the tropic highlands.  The mountain also has caves to be explored (full of crystals) and a visit to the secret caverns at the base also reveal what life would be like should temperatures rise by 5 degrees - a chilling warning of the dangers of climate change.

Leafy Blossoms

Leaving the mountain, the visitor then discovers a  secret valley at its foot.  A "river" flows slowly by, and "crocodiles" and giant snails peek through the flowers and plant life.  I see a lot of my mother's favourites, the epiceas, with their multi-coloured leaves.  One patch of leaves - purply green, bright green, red/yellow and green/pink/silver -was just as brightly coloured as any flower bush in the Flower Dome!

I've been indeed fortunate to visit the natural habitat of some of these beautiful plants.  And doubly fortunate that I get to experience them again here.  Indeed, the Gardens by the Bay has truly given Singaporeans the opportunity to learn  more about the glories of nature and the beauty and variety of plant life on this little planet called Earth.

For more photos (including my night shots) of the Gardens, check out my Flickr set.

Walking around, all Kai Kai Xin Xin !

In just a few days' time, Singapore will be getting our very own pair of pandas, a loan from China.   They will be staying in their specially prepared enclosure in the Singapore Zoo's new River Safari area.  I'm looking forward to seeing them.

But I must admit that I managed to get a good look at a pair of pandas - in  Macau.  Not many people know this, but Macau too has its own pair of pandas, Kai Kai and Xin Xin (or Hoi Hoi and Sam Sam in Cantonese).  Also a loan from China - in commemoration of the 10th Anniversary of the establishment of the Macau SAR.  The pandas stay in the  Macau Panda Pavilion in the Seac Pai Van Park in Coloane, the southernmost part of Macau. There are a few caged enclosures with some monkeys in them, and two ostriches in a large run beside the cages.  But there can be no doubt what the main attraction is.

The pavillion opens at 10am and visitors get to look at them for one hour.  We got there at 10am, and were fortunate in that there were not many other visitors - absolutely wonderful,  no one jostling us and enabling us to take nice photos and videos of the cute pandas.

So here they are: Kai Kai and Xin Xin!

 First: this is Kai Kai.  He was pretty active, wandering around his enclosure looking for food.  I must say I never expected that the pandas were so tall - apparently they grow to about 150cm in length. Even so, they look so adorable still with their large heads,big eyes (or maybe their eye patches just make their eyes look big) and generally friendly face.

Kai Kai has cup shaped ears, peanut-shaped eye patches and a more pointed muzzle.

Xin Xin on the other hand has more rounded ears, and a more rounded face.  She loves to eat.... and was spending most of the time we were there eating.  The last few minutes, she spent sleeping.  Not the most exciting panda to photograph.  

Nonetheless, a truly fun and enjoyable visit.  I do hope that our Singapore pandas arrive safely and settle down happily in their new home.  They are very much welcomed!

See more photos and even two videos of Kai Kai and Xin Xin at my Flickr set on Macau..