The Adventures of George (contd.)

Despite being the only dog in the world who needs a life-jacket to stay afloat, George bravely takes to the pool for his first swimming lesson ...



After half a lap, George clings on for dear life and hopes the swimming instructor doesn't hear him wheezing in the shallow end ...



Totally shagged, George retires to his bedroom to plan his next adventure ...

Phil's 21st birthday

I awoke from an afternoon siesta to find birthday balloons floating outside our 1st floor window!!



Thank you Steve and Katrina for a fantastic surprise. And for the delicious birthday cake!

soooo cute!

Our new neighbour Thalia is soooo cute! She's growing so fast she's almost as big as Janie (see next post) ...

Janie drunk

Janie the cat lives with Katrina, Steve and Thalia in the flat downstairs. Here she is enjoying some of Steve's homebrew ...



feeling a little squiffy ...



and she's out.



And she wonders why she has a beer belly ...

Valentine's Day

No overpriced roses this year, just a surprise 'lormantic' picnic dinner on the beach courtesy of Chef Tatham with a little help from Da Paolo Gastronomia in Holland Village.



Starters of mushroom tart, dried sausage and goat's cheese. And the cheapest bottle of bubbly I could find: Jacob's Creek Sparkling Pinot Noir.



I force-fed a loaf of Italian bread to make a colourful and equally tasty pane farcito. I managed to squeeze in roast red capsicum and eggplant, sun-dried tomatoes, olives, feta cheese, fresh basil, rocket, artichoke hearts, spring onions, prosciutto and honey tomatoes. It almost exploded.



Strawberries and coconut macaroons for dessert.



Oh, how cute. That's Valentine's Day done for another year.

'strikingly bald'

CNY @ Yeoh's place

Chinese New Year gathering at Yeoh & Shannon's place in Singapore. Some kind of fungus spreading on the livingroom wall ...



Yee Sang (Yu Sheng) ... see Chinese New Year post below for more info ...

Gong Xi Fa Cai

It's goodbye year of the rooster and hello year of the dog. Holly and Sandy went shopping for Chinese New Year food and decorations in Singapore's Chinatown, Sandy is looking for dried fish stomach lining (or swim bladder) to take back for her parents ... oh how delicious ...



Seeing red...



Holly flew back to London to start work at Fresh magazine -- congratulations! -- and Sandy and I headed up to Kuala Lumpur to spend Chinese New Year with Sandy's family.

Getting ready for Reunion Dinner at Sandy's parents' place. every year, on the eve of Chinese New Year, most Chinese people return to the house of the head of the family to eat together and usher in the New Year. Many stay up till midnight to pray to the various gods.





Steamboat ...





Reunion Dinner ...



After dinner we popped in to see Sandy's dad's younger brother, Ah Chek, and his family who live round the corner. It's more usual to visit relatives on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd days of the 15-day Chinese New Year but since they were driving up to Penang at 4am the next day this was the only chance to say hello.

Clockwise from bottom left: Sandy, Ah Yew, Ah Chim, Ma, Hueh Hueh, Ah Ngae, Pa, Ah Chek, Ah Pao ...



Ah Chek teaching Sandy aerobics ...



On the 1st day of New Year we braved the 37-degree heat to take a look at Tugu Negara (National Monument), built in remembrance of the soldiers who died during the World Wars and during the Emergency Period (fighting the communists).







A certain B.O. Tatham is listed on the memorial ... looks like I'm not the first Tatham here ...



Yee Sang or Yu Sheng is a festive salad of veggies, pickles, pomelo, raw fish slices, crackers, plum sauce and five-spice powder that is only served during Chinese New Year and is it eaten to encourage prosperity and good fortune in the coming year. Tossing the salad as high as possible, while shouting Loh Hei! Loh Hei!, increases one's good fortune so it's usually pretty messy.





Dinner in Jalan Alor, a red-light district of KL, which has some of the best Chinese food in town.

James & Fi

James & Fi flew into town for a couple of days on their way to New Zealand. We met up for Chilli Crab at the East Coast ...



Rosie ...



and Anna ...